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CloseSHORTLISTED, 2020 NSW PREMIER'S LITERARY AWARDS, INDIGENOUS WRITERS’ PRIZE
SHORTLISTED, 2018 SPEECH PATHOLOGY AUSTRALIA’S BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDS, EIGHT TO 10 YEARS
Alfred’s War is a powerful story that unmasks the lack of recognition given to Australian Indigenous servicemen who returned from the WWI battlelines. Alfred was just a young man when he was injured and shipped home from France. Neither honoured as a returned soldier or offered government support afforded to non-Indigenous servicemen, Alfred took up a solitary life walking the back roads – billy tied to his swag, finding work where he could.
Rachel Bin Salleh’s poignant narrative opens our hearts to the sacrifice and contribution that Indigenous people have made to Australia’s war efforts, the true extent of which is only now being revealed.
"'Alfred’s War' is particularly poignant due to its Indigenous lens and a story not often told... Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans are still fighting for the recognition they deserve."
— Laura Jones, South Sydney Herald
"[Alfred’s War] is poignant and subtle, its emotional power heightened by its restraint… There is a delicate, dreamlike-quality to the watercolour illustrations by Samantha Fry."
— Rosemary O'Neill, The Australian