To James, Alec Campbell was a hero. He was right. The old man, the last living ANZAC, and all of the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought at Gallipoli, were heroes everyones heroes. Alec, who died in May 2002 at the age of 103, enlisted in 1915 when he was just 16. He had put his age up to 18 in order to be accepted by the army and agreed to fight at the front, wherever he was needed. Heroic indeed! James was very fortunate to meet Alec Campbell and find out about his experiences. He gives us a special view of this humble and remarkable man, the year before he died. Based on the true story of a small boys visit to meet Alec Campbell in the year 2001.

Sgt Edward David (Ted) Smout OAM was Queensland’s Last Anzac who died on 22 June 2004. A man, who typically at the time lied about his age to enlist, survived the ravages of war after spending some time fighting at the Somme in 1918. He was an eyewitness to the final moments of the infamous “Red Baron”, Manfred von Richtofen. He was discharged on 8 September 1919 10 months following the Armistice on 11 November 1918. Smout was awarded France’s highest honour, a Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur in 1998 and an OAM for service to the community. The Ted Smout Memorial Bridge which crosses Bramble Bay linking Clontarf and Brighton was named in his honour in 2009.

On May 16, 2002, the last of the Anzacs - Alec Campbell - died at age 103. To mark his passing Tony Stephens and Steven Siewert have updated their book The Last Anzacs: Lest We Forget to include an interview with Alec Campbell. Together with the interviews and photographs of seventeen other Anzacs, this book, in recording the individual life stories of those men, stands as a historic tribute to those who survived the horrors of Gallipoli, a military campaign that has come to symbolize an important moment in Australian history and a potent reminder of what it means to be Australian.

This picture book for the very young is a simple, moving look at Anzac Day through the eyes of a little girl. She goes to the pre-dawn Anzac Day service with her father where they watch the girl s grandfather march in the parade. This beautifully illustrated book explains what happens on Anzac Day and its significance in terms a young child can understand It is an excellent introduction to this highly venerated ceremony, and poignantly addresses the sentiments aroused by the memory of those who gave their lives for their country.

In 1916, one million men fought in the first battle of the Somme. Victory hinged on their ability to capture a small village called Pozieres. After five attempts to seize it, the British called in the Anzacs to complete this seemingly impossible task. At midnight on 23 July 1916, thousands of Australians stormed Pozieres. Forty-five days later they were relieved, having suffered 23,000 casualties to gain a few miles of barren landscape. Despite the toll, the operation was heralded as a stunning victory. Yet for the exhausted survivors, the war-weary public, and the families of the dead and maimed, victory came at a terrible cost. Drawing on the letters and diaries of the men who fought at Pozieres, this superb book reveals a battlefield drenched in chaos and fear. Bennett sheds light on the story behind the official history, re-creating the experiences of those men who fought in one of the largest and most devastating battles of the Great War and returned home, all too often, as shattered men.