In the last 10 years, Dr Whitefield\u2019s writing has been inspired by his base, living in Limnos four months each year, and by his family\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
His wife Despina\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cSadly, what happened on Limnos is often a piece of Australian history that\u2019s missing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Greeks had a lot to do with the Anzacs, the allies and the Gallipoli campaign. Over many years, I\u2019ve had little snippets of information, history and anecdotes, so I thought, let\u2019s see what I can make of this.\u201d<\/p>\n Putting together George\u2019s Caf\u00e9<\/em>, Dr Whitefield invented a fictional scenario that nods to many of the true stories and factual events of the early 20th century.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat if an Australian soldier in the First World War spoke Greek? There\u2019s no evidence that any of us did, and none of the ones who went to Gallipoli, that I know of, spoke Greek.<\/p>\n \u201cI set him, Angus Harrison, in Ballarat. He grew up out in Learmonth. I had to invent a backstory about why he spoke Greek,\u201d Dr Whitefield said.<\/p>\n \u201cBack 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI based this part of the story on the way my grandfather enlisted. I have Angus going to my grandfather\u2019s 21st birthday party, getting horribly drunk, and all the boys saying, \u2018come on, let\u2019s enlist.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI made up the party, but my grandfather truly did enlist the day after his 21st birthday,\u201d Dr Whitefield said.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the book, the boys answer an ad in The Courier<\/em>, and head off.\u201d<\/p>\n The book tracks 45 years of history, from 1912, through to the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games.<\/p>\n Where \u201cthe story starts,\u201d is when Angus gets to Gallipoli. He is injured, ends up on Limnos, survives the war, and comes back to Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d Dr Whitefield said.<\/p>\n The story is bookended by moments in the present day, as Angus\u2019s grandson, also Angus Harrison, finds his namesake\u2019s antique handwritten manuscripts in the attic.<\/p>\n It\u2019s written from the original Angus\u2019 perspective, but also in the words of a Greek lady he met on Limnos, and a Turkish man that he met on Gallipoli.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/goldenplains\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/23\/2021\/04\/IMG_0226-225x300.jpg\")