Gallipoli: A Short History

Jack Fothergill worked on Melbourne’s trams before he went to war and was killed on Pine Ridge on 25 April 1915.

In Gallipoli, Michael McKernan tells Jack’s story and that of his family, who never recovered from their grief. He also tells the stories of journalist Charles Bean, Chaplain Bill McKenzie, John Treloar and General Ian Hamilton, capturing the essence of what it was really like for the men who fought on the Gallipoli peninsula during that long campaign.

While saluting the bravery, determination and resourcefulness of the Anzacs, McKernan also tells of the failed leadership in London and on the Peninsula that caused great loss of life.

He makes clear that ‘the most dramatic moment in Australian history’ was known to be unwinnable within fifteen hours of the first Anzacs going ashore.

There are few, if any, new issues to emerge from the story of Anzac, but Gallipoli puts the facts in a new context and brings to the fore the essential moments in the campaign.

This intense account gives clarity to the story and is a reminder that loss of life in war is always personal, always tragic an always has consequences.