Anzac Labour

Anzac Labour explores the horror, frustration and exhaustion surrounding working life in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War. Based primarily on the letters, diaries and memoirs of Australian soldiers, this book traces the history of work and workplace cultures through the training camps of Australia, the shores of Gallipoli, the fields of France and Belgium, and the desert sands of the Near East.

The reader is guided through soldiers' experiences of digging through dead bodies in the trenches of the Western Front, the tension surrounding carting supplies through sniper fire on Gallipoli, and the weariness experienced by light-horsemen on long patrols through the unforgiving Egyptian desert. Anzac Labour describes how, over several long years of conflict, Australian soldiers committed their minds and bodies not only to combat but also to the daily slog of military work, truly earning their tag as 'diggers'.