New war novel blends fact and fiction

DOCTOR Tony Whitefield has released his second novel exploring the history between the Greek island of Limnos and Anzac soldiers.

This “fictionalised non-fiction” book, George’s Café, was a project the Ballarat-born author started a year ago, while in the first pandemic lockdown, and follows his 2016 release A Lemnos Odyssey: From Jason and The Argonauts to the Anzacs at Gallipoli.

In the last 10 years, Dr Whitefield’s writing has been inspired by his base, living in Limnos four months each year, and by his family’s history.

His wife Despina’s parents are Greek, from Limnos. His grandfather fought on Gallipoli for eight days and was shot in the leg. He survived, returning home to Ballarat.

“Sadly, what happened on Limnos is often a piece of Australian history that’s missing,” he said.

“The Greeks had a lot to do with the Anzacs, the allies and the Gallipoli campaign. Over many years, I’ve had little snippets of information, history and anecdotes, so I thought, let’s see what I can make of this.”

Putting together George’s Café, Dr Whitefield invented a fictional scenario that nods to many of the true stories and factual events of the early 20th century.

“What if an Australian soldier in the First World War spoke Greek? There’s no evidence that any of us did, and none of the ones who went to Gallipoli, that I know of, spoke Greek.

“I set him, Angus Harrison, in Ballarat. He grew up out in Learmonth. I had to invent a backstory about why he spoke Greek,” Dr Whitefield said.

“Back in the 1860s and 70s, many academics spoke multiple languages. I decided his parents had been language teachers in UK, and that he spoke Greek at home with his parents.”

The narrative follows Angus – a completely made-up character – as he enlists in the army alongside a group of friends, following a big night of partying.

“I based this part of the story on the way my grandfather enlisted. I have Angus going to my grandfather’s 21st birthday party, getting horribly drunk, and all the boys saying, ‘come on, let’s enlist.’

“I made up the party, but my grandfather truly did enlist the day after his 21st birthday,” Dr Whitefield said.

“In the book, the boys answer an ad in The Courier, and head off.”

The book tracks 45 years of history, from 1912, through to the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games.

Where “the story starts,” is when Angus gets to Gallipoli. He is injured, ends up on Limnos, survives the war, and comes back to Australia.

“The things that I have Angus doing with the 8th battalion actually happened and are real events; some of the battles he fought in were real and well documented,” Dr Whitefield said.

The story is bookended by moments in the present day, as Angus’s grandson, also Angus Harrison, finds his namesake’s antique handwritten manuscripts in the attic.

It’s written from the original Angus’ perspective, but also in the words of a Greek lady he met on Limnos, and a Turkish man that he met on Gallipoli.

Dr Whitefield hopes George’s Café encourages readers to research their own family history.

“If their family members went to Gallipoli, they went to Limnos. All the soldiers had rest, and many were injured, going to the hospitals there,” he said.

“If they came back alive, then they went to Limnos.”

Members of the Arch of Victory – Avenue of Honour Committee have taken tours of Limnos with Dr Whitefield, discovering more about its history and link to Australia.

His grandfather has a tree in the Avenue of Honour and is mentioned on the Arch of Victory.

The physical book, and e-books, are available online from major booksellers.