By-Ways On Service: Notes From An Australian Journal (1918) By Hector Dinning
 
Scarce World War One military memoirs by an Australian Captain in the Light Horse of the Middle East and the Western Front. 
 
It seems strange that any book should be composed in a war-zone as difficult and dangerous as the Somme area in 1917, but that is exactly what Hector Dinning did. Having published a few of his pen-portraits and sketches of incidents in various journals, friends and colleagues pressed Dinning to collect them together and publish them as a book. This he did even in the mud of the battlefield and under the shell-fire of the Germans!
 
Hector Dinning was among the first Australians to volunteer for overseas service. As he and his comrades sailed toward Egypt, military discipline chafed at the individualism of the Australians. Thankfully, once in Cairo, the troops were allowed leave before further transit to the hellish Gallipoli peninsula. Dinning details the difficulties and carnage that he witnessed at Gallipoli and Pathos, but also with some restraint, given the awfulness of the battles there. After only a brief rest in Egypt, the author was sent to France for further action on the Somme in Picardy; however, as a relief and in stark contrast, he tells of encounters with the French civilians behind the lines and the time that he spent out of the lines. This volume takes his story up to 1917, whereupon he was transferred to the famed Australian Light Horse, who were engaged in Palestine under Allenby, which he recounted in his second volume of memoirs, “Nile to Aleppo, with the Light-horse in the Middle-East.”
 
Hector Dinning's 'By-ways on Service: Notes from an Australian Journal' offers a candid retrospective of Australian soldiers' experiences during World War I, emphasizing their time spent in Egypt and the Suez Canal Zone. Crafted with an unassumingly light touch that borders on the irreverent, Dinning's narrative weaves descriptions of Middle Eastern locales with the emotional journey of soldiers far from home, contrasting the soldiers' transient discontent with their enduring affection for their first encounter with a world beyond Australia. In its literary style, the book deftly balances informal observations with deeper introspections, providing readers with a personal yet historically contextualized account that extends beyond traditional war narratives concerned solely with the Western Front. Prior to authoring this nuanced journal, Hector Dinning served with Australian forces, a background that furnishes him with the authenticity of a participant-turned-storyteller. His personal experiences, the camaraderie among soldiers, and their evolving perceptions of foreign lands are recounted with the credibility of one who has lived the serviceman's life. Dinning's unique perspective not only chronicles military life but also captures the spirit of the time, presenting a multifaceted picture of an era and its people, shaped by the crucible of war and the allure of new horizons. 'Readers will find 'By-ways on Service' to be a poignant and enlightening read, recommended for history enthusiasts interested in soldierly experiences beyond the battlefield, and fans of travel literature seeking insights into the mindset of Australian soldiers encountering the Middle East during a time of global upheaval. Dinning invites his audience to ponder the quieter, yet equally transformative, aspects of service life and reminds us of the enduring human narratives that are etched into the annals of history amid tales of strife and valor.
 
Hard Cover
281 Pages
In Fair Condition