Diaries of a Stretcher-Bearer 1916-1918 (L/Cpl Edward Munro M.M., 5th Field Ambulance A.I.F.) is the story of the Munro family who came to Australia before the First World War, and found itself immersed in the war with four family members taking part. It is a day-to-day account of the heroism of the stretcher-bearers. These men walked out into no man’s land, picked up the wounded and dying and struggled back to their own trenches through the glutinous Somme mud under fire from German snipers.

Intertwined in the book is the story of a brother of Edward Munro evacuated from Gallipoli with typhoid fever. It tells of his whirlwind romance with the English Nurse who nursed him back to health, and the tragic end of their romance in a Royal Flying Corps training crash. Throughout the book the author maintains his steadfast spirit in finding the lighter side of war. Contrasting the horrors they faced are stories of army idiocy and the camaraderie of true mateship. This book reveals both the best and worst of human nature.

Details: Biography/True Story, published 2010.

Format: Soft cover, 250 pages.

Dimensions: 22.0 cm (h) x 15.2 cm (w) x 1.2 cm (d) / 440 grams.