The Fair Dinkum War
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley November 26, 2014
Author David Cox
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ISBN: 978-1-74331-062-5
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
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Website: http://www.allenandunwin.com
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When David Cox was a young boy, war in the form of World War II, came to his town.
His class was disrupted by the sound of rumbling vehicles. They all rushed outside to see a long, long line of military vehicle passing through the town: all with a white star on the side.
The line of vehicles lasted all day: they were off to support the War effort in the North of Australia.
David Cox tells of the excitement this extraordinary event caused in his town through the eyes of a an innocent youngster growing up in an ever-changing world. As the years rolled by and the war carried on the boys knew the names of all the tanks, planes and warships taking part in the offensive, as all young boys did in those days and even for years afterwards.
Told in a particularly droll style you feel the fascination of the boys as their world slowly changes: they learn air-raid drills, marvel at the folk who built air-raid shelters in their backyards, black-out curtains were put up throughout the entire house and air raid wardens patrolled the streets.
Scrap metal and old tyres were collected to help the war effort and ration books became the norm.
Cox also gives us a slice of growing up in a world far different to today’s world with a slower pace and set family patterns which had held over the generation, such as going to Grandmothers for lunch every Sunday and climbing mulberry trees with the leisure to sit in them for as long as you like.
The story tells of bravery, the ability to adapt, and the fascination of growing up in a time of massive changes in society.
Richly enjoyable, a trip down memory lane for many Grandparents reading this book to their grandchildren and a peep into history for children of all ages, grown up and all, who will undoubtedly enjoy the tale which comes to us from the pen of a master storyteller in David Cox.