The oarsmen : the remarkable story of the men who rowed from the Great War to peace / Scott Patterson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Patterson, Scott, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rowers--Biography.

Rowers.

Rowers--Australia--Biography.

Rowing--Australia--History.

Rowing.

Rowing--Competitions--Australia.

Great Britain--Social life and customs--1918-1945.

Great Britain.

Australia. Australian Army--Sports.

Australia.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (187 pages)

Place of Publication:

Richmond, Victoria ; London : Hardie Grant Books, 2019.

Summary:

At the end of the First World War, there were 270,000 demobilised Australian soldiers in Europe. Getting them home after the Armistice was a task of epic proportions that would take more than two years. In the meantime, how to keep these disgruntled, damaged men with guns occupied? In a word: sport. The Oarsmen tells the story of the servicemen who survived the war to row for the coveted King's Cup at the 1919 Royal Henley Peace Regatta. Competing against crews from the US, New Zealand, France, the UK and Canada, the Australians were a ragtag bunch of oarsmen thrown in an old-fashioned boat and expected to race. Many had seen the worst of the action during the war at Gallipoli and the Western Front, and carried scars both physical and psychological. The baggage they brought to the boat would soon threaten to capsize the whole endeavour. Combining first-hand accounts with lively prose, this never-before-told story approaches the First World War from peacetime and illuminates history in vivid and compelling detail. Interweaving the soldiers' personal stories from before, during and after the war, The Oarsmen paints a fascinating picture of how these men, and society, transitioned from an unprecedented war to a new sort of peace.

Contents:

Prologue: Rowing into war

Part 1: The War. Chapter 1: The game is worth the candle

Chapter 2: Hauenstein

Chapter 3: The dying days

Part 2: The Peace. Chapter 4: Occupy the men

Chapter 5: Battlefield to playing field

Chapter 6: Syd and Marion

Chapter 7: The sports section

Chapter 8: The oarsmen of Pozières

Chapter 9: Disher

Chapter 10: Getting back in the boat

Chapter 11: Putney

Chapter 12: Gathering the oarsmen

Chapter 13: Making the cut

Chapter 14: The Australian style

Chapter 15: The boat

Chapter 16: Fairbairn

Chapter 17: Trouble in the boat

Chapter 18: Anzac Day

Chapter 19: Mutiny in the boat

Part 3: The Regatta. Chapter 20: Picking up the pieces

Chapter 21: New digs, new coach

Chapter 22: The two crews

Chapter 23: Six to one

Chapter 24: The Marlow Victory Regatta

Chapter 25: Tough choices

Chapter 26: The Royal Henley Peace Regatta

Chapter 27: The King's Cup

Chapter 28: The Inter-Allied Regatta, Paris

Chapter 29: The Euripides

Epilogue.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-74358-623-X