John is not a hero. He is just one of many young Australian men who simply decided to join the war effort in 1916, as a civilian soldier. He was put into the 3rd Division of the Australian Imperial Force. He never had any ambitions or defined ideas about the volatile and violent campaign for which he had selflessly volunteered. He is a young man from one of many families from urban post-Edwardian Melbourne, who is taken to the Western Front in Europe. He became a man in 1916, and the story he tells of his life regarding his family and friends, and his life in the war is his own. Every human life is uncertain and unique, and whether you think John’s is one of bravery or sorrow will be entirely your own judgement.