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Australia's Secret Army

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Australia's Secret Army

By: Michael Veitch
Narrated by: Michael Veitch
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About this listen

 Established after World War I by the Royal Australian Navy, the Coast Watchers were a loose organisation of several hundred European settlers, missionaries, patrol officers and planters living in British and Australian Pacific Island territories whose job it was to observe and report on the enemy. They were mostly all unpaid volunteers whose job it was simply to observe and report on foreign shipping and aeroplane movements.

It was never envisaged that the Coast Watchers would do any fighting, nor operate inside enemy-occupied territory. But when World War II came to the Pacific, that is exactly what they ended up doing, becoming, in effect, Australia's secret army. Fully cognisant of their fate should they be caught, they nonetheless battled not just the enemy, but constant exhaustion, tropical disease, and the ever-present spectre of capture, torture and death.

Without the Coast Watchers and the crucial intelligence they provided, key moments in the war could have turned out very differently. This is the story of these unsung heroes who risked their lives - and sometimes lost them - in the service of their country. Armed Forces Australia, New Zealand & Oceania Military Oceania Special & Elite Forces War Air Force
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Most relevant
This was a really interesting story, highly recommend taking the time to listen to it.

Fascinating bit of history

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This should be compulsory school reading. Well written and very well portraid by the author.

What Australians Don't Know

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I learned a bit over the number of years of my 20s that I spent in an out of the western provinces of the Solomon islands, During that time, I learned a lot about the coast watchers. I did read the book Coastwatchers and felt I had a pretty good understanding.

Michael Veitch brings far more information than I ever thought I would have, and a significantly better understanding of the privations and difficulties that the coastwatchers faced at the time they were completing their, often thankless, task.

Well worth the book/listen.

Truly engaging

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Utterly absorbing - for the few who are identified as heroes, there seem many more that are not. Amazing research, wonderful story telling and and thanks to WW2TV (YouTube) otherwise I would not know of this book’s existence.

Long distance car driver

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Loved it. Great stories, attention to detail and it keeps motoring along. Interesting and inspiring from start to finish.

Excellent

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.