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Speaker 1: And Amanda gam Nation.

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Speaker 2: Peterfitt Simon's one of our absolute phaves, is back with

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Speaker 2: a new novel to add to his collection. It's called

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Speaker 2: The Legend of Albert Jacker. Albert Jacker was the first

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Speaker 2: Australian to receive the Victoria Cross in the Great War.

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Speaker 2: He was said to be the finest frontline soldier Australia

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Speaker 2: had produced. I was a National Treasurer at the time.

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Speaker 2: So why don't we know more about him? What has

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Speaker 2: happened to his story? So Peter fitz Simon's.

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Speaker 1: Hello, My two favorites not Jonesy and Amanda in my house,

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Speaker 1: it's Amanda and Jones.

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Speaker 2: See, I wish your house was bigger. So more people

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Speaker 2: would say that.

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Speaker 3: But we've already had the signage made, Pete, and that

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Speaker 3: it's been twenty years.

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Speaker 2: The business cards have been done.

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Speaker 3: Once the printers start rolling, mate, you know in the

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Speaker 3: business you can't change the book, can you?

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Speaker 1: That's true? But anyway, look at it's an extraor if

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Speaker 1: I may say he was an extraordinary man. And Brendan,

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Speaker 1: I do wonder, I wonder do you wonder when you

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Speaker 1: read these war stories and November eleven you wonder how

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Speaker 1: would I go in a trench, trenches with you know,

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Speaker 1: with the other diggers, and the bullets are flying, and

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Speaker 1: shells the landing and shrapnels flying. I am not confident

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Speaker 1: that I'd be the one that would go over the

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Speaker 1: top and say follow me. And I may well be

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Speaker 1: the guy whimpering at the bottom. But the thing about

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Speaker 1: Albert Jacka was he was a humble timber worker from Victoria.

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Speaker 1: He was five foot seven, ringing wet with his with

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Speaker 1: his socks on. He was not a big man. But

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Speaker 1: in wartime he suddenly went deathly calm. He knew what

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Speaker 1: to do, he knew how to do it. And Charles Been,

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Speaker 1: the great war correspondent, an official historian, said this guy

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Speaker 1: should have won three Victoria Crosses, not just one. But

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Speaker 1: he was an extraordinary soldier.

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Speaker 3: And with the Victoria Cross, what you get it it's

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Speaker 3: just gallantry. It's not how many people you kill and

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Speaker 3: things like that.

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Speaker 1: Oh, it's for displaying extraordinary courage under fire. And what

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Speaker 1: he did the first the first time it happened. Well,

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Speaker 1: the Victoria Cross he was awarded. In the early hours

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Speaker 1: of the nineteenth of May at Gallipoli, the Turks launched

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Speaker 1: tens of thousands of their soldiers straight At a particular

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Speaker 1: point in the Australian line. The Australians kept firing, but

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Speaker 1: at one point they were overwhorlmed and the Turks actually

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Speaker 1: got into got into the trenches and they had to

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Speaker 1: be stopped. And because if they'd widened the breach and

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Speaker 1: the rest of the Turks had poured through, Australians would

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Speaker 1: have been wiped out. Who could they send in? Albert

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Speaker 1: Jako was on the spot and he was very calm,

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Speaker 1: and he said two of his mates, right, this is

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Speaker 1: what we're gonna do. Take these two grenades in thirty

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Speaker 1: seconds from now. You've got to love them over on

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Speaker 1: that trench. I'm going out into no man's land. I'm

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Speaker 1: going to attack them from an angle they're not expecting.

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Speaker 1: Got it, get it done, I'm gone. Bang off he goes.

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Speaker 1: The first grenade misses, the second grade lands in the trench.

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Speaker 1: He jumps in and if everything and then went silent.

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Speaker 1: And in the famous story, the Lieutendant puts his head

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Speaker 1: around the corner fifteen minutes later to find Jacka up

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Speaker 1: against the seven Turks that he'd personally killed, and with

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Speaker 1: a cigarette dangling from his mouth. Saying, well, I got

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Speaker 1: the buggers, sir, and I don't say that, you know,

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Speaker 1: I don't say there was any joy of the dead Turks.

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Speaker 1: It is tragic, but but it was. He was an

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Speaker 1: extraordinary soldier. And at Pozsi Air again, he goes into

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Speaker 1: a front line trench with thirty members of his platoon.

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Speaker 1: All night long, they're being shelled, their men are being killed,

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Speaker 1: war for collapsing. In the morning, there's seven of them left.

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Speaker 1: Jacka puts his head out the trench. He realizes that

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Speaker 1: fifty Germans have gone past them and have rounded up

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Speaker 1: as many Australians who were unarmed and are coming their way.

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Speaker 1: Jacka says to the blakes within fixed bayonets, Brendan, you

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Speaker 1: and I would have said fix what.

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Speaker 4: We're not going to charge those blokes. But with Albert

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Speaker 4: Jackert BC the most respected man in the army, they

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Speaker 4: had no choice. But the following Jacka led the charge.

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Speaker 1: The fifty Australians who were prisoners sort of, they took

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Speaker 1: their chances and knocked the Germans on the head. Jacka

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Speaker 1: had seven wounds, nearly died, but for that he was

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Speaker 1: awarded the Military Cross.

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Speaker 3: It's extraordinary, is extraordinary. And you're right. The only thing

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Speaker 3: I would have got in the trench was crutch rot.

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Speaker 3: That would have been the only thing.

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Speaker 2: There's no medals for.

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Speaker 3: There's no medal for. It's not VC, it's VD. Peter.

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Speaker 3: You led me to that. The Legend of Albert Jacker

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Speaker 3: is available now at all good bookstores. Pete, say hi

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Speaker 3: to Lisa and the kids for us. Thank you for

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Speaker 3: joining us.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much. One of our kids is getting married.

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Speaker 3: We can be more thrilleds.

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Speaker 1: Lots of mount your both. Thank you.

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Speaker 3: Good on your mate.