Missing in Action

Regular price €19.99
Quantity:
In stock with our UK publisher. 14-28 days
Delivery/Collection within 10-20 working days
14 days return policy Shipping & Delivery
A01=Marianne van Velzen
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
Author_Marianne van Velzen
automatic-update
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=HBJM
Category=HBWN
Category=JWT
Category=JWTY
Category=NHM
Category=NHWR5
COP=Australia
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=0
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
father
First World War
Language_English
leadership
PA=Available
Price_€10 to €20
PS=Active
Robert Burns
softlaunch
soldiers
son
Western Front
World War I

Product details

  • ISBN 9781760632809
  • Weight: 420g
  • Dimensions: 154 x 234mm
  • Publication Date: 23 May 2018
  • Publisher: Allen & Unwin
  • Publication City/Country: AU
  • Product Form: Paperback
  • Language: English
Secure checkout Fast Shipping Easy returns

By the end of World War I, 45,000 Australians had died on the Western Front. Some bodies had been hastily buried mid-battle in massed graves; others were mutilated beyond recognition. Often men were simply listed as 'Missing in Action' because nobody knew for sure.

Lieutenant Robert Burns was one of the missing, and now that the guns had fallen silent his father wanted to know what had become of his son. He wasn't the only one looking for answers. A loud clamour arose from Australia for information and the need for the dead to be buried respectfully.

Many of the Australians charged with the grisly task of finding and reburying the dead were deeply flawed. Each had his own reasons for preferring to remain in France instead of returning home. In the end there was a great scandal, with allegations of 'body hoaxing' and gross misappropriation of money and army possessions leading to two highly secretive inquiries.

Untold until now, Missing in Action is the compelling and unexpected story of those dark days and darker deeds and a father's desperate search for his son's remains.

Marianne van Velzen was born in the Netherlands but grew up in Australia. In her late teens she emigrated back to Europe and later became a journalist. She has a life-long interest in Australia and is the author of Call of the Outback, published in 2016, and Bomber Boys, published in 2017.

More from this author