Volunteers March Into Book History
Newcastle Herald
Saturday November 15, 2008
AFTER three years of research and editing, a book documenting 150 years of Hunter volunteers in the Citizen Defence Force and Defence Reserve is now available.
Military of the Hunter - Citizen Defence Forces of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley a History - 1855 to 2005 details the history of volunteer forces in the Hunter, which began in 1855 in reaction to concerns over threats to Newcastle Harbour from Russian forces.Editor-in-chief Laurie Kelly said the idea for the 450-page anthology came from celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Citizen Defence Force in 2005."It was three years of hard work by six people who were all former volunteers or reservists," he said.The book not only details defence units in the region but military infrastructure such as Fort Scratchley and service overseas."I am not aware of another book that details the reserve history as comprehensively as this," he said.The former lieutenant-colonel and commanding officer of 2nd Battalion with 33 years' service said it was the right time to compile the history."There are a lot of people from the earlier era who are passing on so if it is not collected it will be lost," Mr Kelly said.
© 2008 Newcastle Herald