Major Peter Romsey contacts Jaxson’s dad to ask if some medals he found in an op shop could possibly belong to the Donoghue family. Intrigued by the story of his great, great uncle being part of the Great War, and what happened to him after that, Jaxson reads about Gallipoli. As a result his close friendship with Abi wavers. Even if this conflict took place ninety odd years ago, Abi’s family are Turkish. Does this make Abi his enemy?

Story Inspiration

A TV interview where a retired army officer talked about finding and returning lost medals to the descendants of the soldiers awarded them. I would like to think this topic is rarely written for such a young audience. Hopefully, I have made easy for the reader to relate to Jaxson and Abi and helped them understand why we celebrate the Anzacs and Anzac Day.

Which age group is it for?

As a junior novel aimed at younger readers, it gives context and background to Anzac Day and to the soldiers who died at Gallipoli. The story is told from the point of view of a young boy. Though there are inserts from Great Uncle Jack’s letters home, their message is about the horrors of war and sacrifices so many young men made.

I think this novel will be very useful to explain Anzac Day and why Gallipoli has such hero status in Australian eyes.