[ebooks] South Fayette Township (Images of America) by Charlotte Smith in Arts-Photography

Description

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND HISTORY BOOK AWARD The previously untold story of an extraordinary man and a great war photographer. Cameras were banned at the Western Front when the Anzacs arrived in 1916; prompting correspondent Charles Bean to argue continually for Australia to have a dedicated photographer. He was eventually assigned an enigmatic polar explorerthinsp;mdash;thinsp;George Hubert Wilkins. Within weeks of arriving at the front; Wilkinsrsquo; exploits were legendary. He did what no photographer had previously dared to do. He went lsquo;over the toprsquo; with the troops and ran forward to photograph the actual fighting. He led soldiers into battle; captured German prisoners; was wounded repeatedly; and was twice awarded the Military Crossthinsp;mdash;thinsp;all while he refused to carry a gun and armed himself only with a bulky glass-plate camera. Wilkins ultimately produced the most detailed and accurate collection of World War I photographs in the world; which is now held at the Australian War Memorial. After the war; Wilkins returned to exploring and; during the next 40 years; his life became shrouded in secrecy. His work at the Western Front was forgotten; and others claimed credit for his photographs. Throughout his life; Wilkins wrote detailed diaries and letters; but when he died in 1958 these documents were locked away. Jeff Maynard follows a trail of myth and misinformation to locate Wilkinsrsquo; lost records and to reveal the remarkable; true story of Australiarsquo;s greatest war photographer. PRAISE FOR JEFF MAYNARD lsquo;[A] thrilling; wonderfully researched book. Every Australian should read it. Almost every page leaves you astonished.rsquo; The Saturday Age lsquo;[This] understated; well-honed biography reveals the maverick; eternally restless Wilkins as a man who refused to define his life through war alone.rsquo; The Saturday Paper