War Letters From A Young Queenslander

Robert Marshall Allen (1886 - 1946)

Letters from a Brisbane doctor posted to the Western Front from 1914 to December 1915. He tells anecdotes of World War I including stories of "de-lousing" an entire regiment, the precise arrangements of the urine trenches and his eyewitness accounts of the battles of Neuve Chapelle and Ypres and a contemporary comment on the Gallipoli campaign. He describes how the enemy rains shells on the ambulances and the retrievals of the wounded from the trenches at night. This was also a time of great medical advances, so we hear from a participant the fascinating story of some of the first mass Tetanus inoculations, and the series of experiments surrounding the invention of "vermi-jelly", along with the darker stories of the invention and first uses of chlorine gas.

This story of an Australian doctor in The Great War is read by another Australian doctor, and comes complete with Australian slang read in an authentic Aussie accent! (Summary by Beth Thomas)

Genre(s): War & Military, Modern (20th C), Letters

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Aldershot Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:17:02
Play 02 Boulogne Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:13:58
Play 03 The R.A.M.C at Work Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:11:12
Play 04 Connaught Rangers Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:17:32
Play 05 Bathing and Laundry Experiences Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:08:14
Play 06 Neuve Chapelle Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:08:09
Play 07 With The Highlanders at Ypres Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:19:48
Play 08 Gas: Bane and Antidote Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:13:56
Play 09 Some Lively Incidents Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:13:39
Play 10 Gallipoli and Australian reflections Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:15:08
Play 11 Odd Jottings of a Quiet Week in the Trenches Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:15:20
Play 12 An Anniversary Review Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:13:09
Play 13 Battle Scenes: All Along The Line Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:24:05
Play 14 Indian Types Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:18:16
Play 15 Farewell to Flanders Beth Thomas (1974-2020)
00:12:42