Charlie’s War
Age range 4+
A young Aboriginal boy’s dream of shearing sheep turns into reality. Then war breaks out in Europe. Despite initially not being able to enlist, he and his two best friends eventually sign up and their lives are changed forever.
How this book came about:
Vicki Bennett worked with Des Crump, Indigenous Languages Coordinator, Queensland Memory, State Library of Queensland, while doing research and development for the documentary, Never Forget Australia.
Des told Vicki the story of his Great Uncle Charlie. After WW1, a welcome home ceremony was given to Charlie Bird and George Bennett and held at the Euraba Aboriginal settlement. This was one of the few welcome home ceremonies for Indigenous soldiers after The Great War.
Charlie’s experience stuck with Vicki and she wanted to hear more. Over many conversations and emails, Des generously shared information about Charlie’s life and the book Charlie’s War came to life. Vicki has been the curator of this narrative from Des, Charlie’s daughter and grand-daughter who warmly support this project.
Vicki Bennett is the author of four picture storybooks that introduce young children to the themes of WWI and WWII. Vicki’s connection with WWI began as a little girl when her grandfather, William McCauley, told her about a friendship forged between him and an Indigenous solider who fought along side him in the trenches at the Somme. When Des Crump first told Vicki about his Uncle Charlie, Vicki hoped that Charlie and William may have met somewhere on those battlefields of France.
Debbie Taylor Worley is a Gamilaraay woman, currently residing on Bundjalung country. She has worked as an artist, illustrator, and educator, participating in numerous group and solo shows, facilitating workshops and creating public and community artworks. With a multidisciplinary practice, Taylor-Worley is known most widely for her clay and textile work. Preferencing natural and foraged materials that are connected to country and working within the landscape and directly on the ground, her work draws on ancestral and intuitive guidance, creating narratives that bridge bi-cultural divides. The themes of her work confront, recontextualise and decolonise colonial histories. Charlie’s War is the fifth children’s book Taylor-Worley has illustrated.
