Editor : Scribe
Extent: 288pp
Size: 234mm x 153mm
ISBN (13): 9781925106169
Pub date: November 2014
Here is a truly astonishing statistic: during World War I, about
60,000 soldiers in the Australian army were treated by army doctors in
Egypt, Europe, and Australia for venereal diseases — almost the same
number of diggers who were killed during the war.
This silent, secret scourge took hold in Cairo in 1914, and continued
until 1919 when survivors of the war waited in Europe to be
repatriated. Nobody wanted to know about it, at first — and the general
public back home was, of course, kept in the dark. Moralistic commanders
in Egypt ordered strict punishments for men with VD, and the young
victims were sent back to Australia in disgrace, most of them inventing
amazing excuses for their inexplicable return. Many of them re-enlisted,
but some felt they had to change their names to do so.
Medical officers couldn’t afford to be puritanical, though. They
tried to prevent the diseases, as well to cure them with toxic drugs in
army VD hospitals in Cairo, in England, and at Langwarrin, near
Melbourne. Eventually, even the army had to face facts, and, after the
AIF arrived in Europe in 1916, commanders ordered that huge quantities
of prophylactics be distributed, and that safe-sex education be given as
well.
The Secrets of the Anzacs reveals all these secrets, and
more. But perhaps the most remarkable revelation it contains is that
many of the re-enlisted men went on to perform deeds of battlefield
bravery — even, in one case, to the extent of being awarded a Victoria
Cross under a false name.
This fascinating book also contains numerous original photographs,
artworks, and documents, most of which have never been published before.
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