The Forgotten

With special guest:

• Dr Will Davies
  … in conversation with Bill Kable

This book started when Will Davies’ insatiable curiosity got him wondering about a group of graves in the war cemeteries of northern France. These graves were all on their own, usually next to the boundary fence. When he went to have a look he found that they were erected for Chinese participants in the First World War.

Since China was supposedly neutral in that conflict and did not have a seat at the table when the powers decided on war reparations what was this all about? Will gives us a fascinating account of the real story behind these forgotten men in his new book The Forgotten: The Chinese Labour Corps and the Chinese Anzacs in the Great War.

As the title indicates we also discussed in this program the role of the Chinese population in Australia and the contribution they have made to our society before, during and after the Great War. Strangely this story has remained hidden even from many Chinese people today and this is one reason why the book is written in both English and Chinese.

Australians are some of the most proficient users of chopsticks outside of Asia. But we relied on skills of the Chinese in many other ways. Will tells us how at the beginning of the Great War the Chinese were not accepted for enlistment on racial grounds. But they were not put off by that initial rejection and many managed to join the troops heading off to Western Europe. We hear the stories of some of those who distinguished themselves in the fighting. We also hear how when the conflict ended they stayed to help clear up the wreckage brought to the French battlefields.

When the Anzacs came back to Australia life returned to normal, which was not always easy for those of Chinese heritage. Perhaps because of this, Chinese Australians are often unaware of their part in Australian history. Now that this book fills in the gaps they have every reason to commemorate Anzac Day. Now we finally get to recognise the forgotten and to our real surprise we find out from Will Davies the derivation of that quintessentially Australian expression “fair dinkum”.

If any of our listeners would like to contact Will regarding The Forgotten or to enquire about his life changing battlefield tours starting up again hopefully when conditions allow, you should contact Will directly on his email: will@willdavies.net.au

Dr Will Davies

Dr Will Davies is an historian, writer and filmmaker who began working with Film Australia (Commonwealth Film Unit) in 1972 following his graduation from the ANU.  After a stint abroad where he worked at the BBC, he worked freelance in the emerging Australian film industry including stints on a number of feature films including Phar Lap, Monkey Grip and Hostage.  In 1983 he produced his first television documentary and for the next thirty years, produced a broad range of documentaries, corporate films and educational programmes, mainly for the ABC and SBS, but for Australian commercial channels and overseas broadcasters.

He more recently completed his PhD at ANU, leads battlefield tours and paddles his kayak.

His latest book is The Forgotten: the Chinese Labour Corps and the Chinese Anzacs in the Great War.

Song selection by our guest: The Green Fields of France by Eric Bogle

Note: This program is an encore presentation of the one aired on 6 August 2020.

Podcast (mp3)