The Nameless Names

Recovering the Missing Anzacs

Scott Bennett

$39.99

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English

Scribe Publications
03 April 2024

Biography: historical, political & military; True war & combat stories; History; Australasian & Pacific history; First World War

Few Australians realise that of the 62,000 Anzac soldiers who died in the Great War, over one-third are still listed as missing. With no marked graves, the only reminders of their sacrifice are the many names inscribed on ageing war memorials around the world.

Scott Bennett deftly tells the story of such missing Anzacs through the personal experience of three sets of brothers - the Reids, Pflaums, and Allens - whose names he selected from the Memorials to the Missing. Bennett traces their paths from small, peaceful towns to three devastating battlefields of the Great War- Gallipoli, Fromelles, and Ypres. He reveals the carnage that led to their disappearance, and their families' subsequent grief and endless search for elusive facts.

Bennett's unflinching account addresses many painful questions. What circumstances resulted in the disappearance of so many soldiers? Why did the Australian government fail in its solemn pledge to recover the missing? Why were so many families left without answers about the fate of their loved ones - despite the dedicated efforts of Vera Deakin and her co-workers at the Australian Red Cross inquiry bureau, first in Cairo and then in London? Vera, a daughter of Australia's second prime minister, had had a privileged upbringing, and yet devoted herself tirelessly to seeking answers for the families of the missing.

The Nameless Names lays bare the emotional toll inflicted upon families, describing those caught between clinging to hope and letting go, those who felt compelled to journey to distant battlefields for answers, and those who shunned conventional religion and resorted to spiritualism for solace.

'This admirable book, superbly researched and insightfully written, illuminates the profound and enduring consequences for so many Australian families whose loved ones were among the missing in World War I.' -Ross McMullin, author of Farewell, Dear People

'Bennett's book reminds us that these men may still be missing, but they are not forgotten.' -Frances Whiting, Courier Mail

Praise for Pozi res-

'Bennett ... has deftly reconstructed the battles through a variety of accounts from historians and participants. One of Bennett's many strengths is his ability to transport himself and the reader into the shoes of the different protagonists, elucidating the battle from a variety of perspectives.' -Martin Croft, The Age

By: Scott Bennett
Imprint: Scribe Publications
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 233mm, Width: 154mm, Spine: 29mm
Weight: 498g
ISBN: 9781761381089
ISBN 10: 1761381083
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 03 April 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Scott Bennett was born in Bairnsdale, Victoria, in 1966, and holds an Executive Master of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management at the University of Sydney. He has worked for many of Australia's most recognised retail companies as a management consultant or an executive manager. In 2003, he visited the Great War battlefields in France and Belgium to retrace the steps of his great-uncles, who had fought there. The experience led him to question the many 'truths' that have developed around the Anzac legend. The result was the writing of The Nameless Names and his first book, Pozi res, which re-examined the battle of Pozi res and the Anzac legend.