AustLit logo

AustLit

image of person or book cover 2320887233562179876.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon Young Digger single work   biography   historical fiction   young adult  
Issue Details: First known date: 2002... 2002 Young Digger
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

An extraordinary story about Henri Tovell who was known as 'Young Digger'. Orphaned, homeless and no more than seven years old, he attached himself to several British Army fighting units, until he was eventually smuggled back to Australia where he was raised by an airman as his own son. Ages 14+.

Exhibitions

7549772
7457004
VIEW ALL EXHIBITIONS

Notes

  • A companion book to Soldier Boy : The True Story of Jim Martin the Youngest Anzac.
  • Also published in sound recording format.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Camberwell, Camberwell - Kew area, Melbourne - Inner South, Melbourne, Victoria,: London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,      :       Penguin ,       2002 .
      image of person or book cover 2320887233562179876.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 283p.
      Description: illus. maps, ports.
      Note/s:
      • With endnotes (pp.248-269).
      ISBN: 0141000627
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Viking , 2016 .
      image of person or book cover 1835712649267019344.jpg
      Cover image courtesy of publisher.
      Extent: 304p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 13 June 2016
      ISBN: 9780670079292
VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Related Works

y separately published work icon Soldier Boy : The True Story of Jim Martin the Youngest Anzac Anthony Hill , Ringwood Harmondsworth : Penguin , 2001 Z821892 2001 single work biography young adult On 28 June 1915, young James Martin sailed from Melbourne aboard the troopship Berrima - bound, ultimately, for Gallipoli. He was just fourteen years old. "Soldier Boy" is Jim's extraordinary true story, the story of a young and enthusiastic school boy who became Australia's youngest known Anzac. Four months after leaving his home country he would be numbered among the dead, just one of so many soldier boys who travelled halfway around the world for the chance of adventure. This is, however, just as much the story of Jim's mother, Amelia Martin. It is the heartbreaking tale of the mother who had to let him go, of his family who lost a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend. It is about Amelia's boy who, like so many others, just wanted to be in on the action. (Trove)
VIEW ALL RELATED WORKS (1)

Works about this Work

Young Digger Review : Anthony Hill's Account of a World War I Orphan's Life Steven Carroll , 2016 single work review
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 25 June 2016;
— Review of Young Digger Anthony Hill , 2002 single work biography 'On Christmas Day 1918, a young orphan, with disarming self-assurance and speaking perfect English, walked into an Australian Flying Corp mess in Germany and, in a very short time, became their mascot. When pressed, he answered to the name Henri. He was French, his parents were dead and he came from somewhere near Lille. But his memories were fragmented, and his origins have remained hazy. ...'
How a War Orphan Was Smuggled Here Carolyn Webb , 2016 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 4-5 June 2016; (p. 10)
Living Historical Fiction Anthony Hill , 2009 single work essay
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , July vol. 24 no. 3 2009; (p. 12-13) Hill talks about the maxim he shares with novelist Patrick O'Brian, that 'authenticity is a jewel' when it comes to historical fiction.
War and Dispossession in Children's Books Robin Morrow , 2003 single work column
— Appears in: Classroom , vol. 23 no. 3 2003; (p. 6-8)
A Waif of War - Kidnapped to Australia with Love Tony Stephens , 2002 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 31 August 2002; (p. 9)
[Review] Young Digger Laurie Copping , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , November vol. 46 no. 4 2002; (p. 23)
— Review of Young Digger Anthony Hill , 2002 single work biography
Rolling Along on the Quest Of a Waif Warwick McFadyen , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 8 September 2002; (p. 12)
— Review of Young Digger Anthony Hill , 2002 single work biography
True Lives Margaret Robson Kett , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 245 2002; (p. 62-63)
— Review of Young Digger Anthony Hill , 2002 single work biography
[Review] Young Digger Anne Briggs , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , September vol. 17 no. 4 2002; (p. 37)
— Review of Young Digger Anthony Hill , 2002 single work biography
Untitled Stella Lees , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: Viewpoint : On Books for Young Adults , Summer vol. 10 no. 4 2002; (p. 41-42)
— Review of Young Digger Anthony Hill , 2002 single work biography
Young Digger by Anthony Hill Laurie Copping , 2002 single work column
— Appears in: Reading Time : The Journal of the Children's Book Council of Australia , November vol. 46 no. 4 2002; (p. 23)
War and Dispossession in Children's Books Robin Morrow , 2003 single work column
— Appears in: Classroom , vol. 23 no. 3 2003; (p. 6-8)
A Waif of War - Kidnapped to Australia with Love Tony Stephens , 2002 single work column
— Appears in: The Age , 31 August 2002; (p. 9)
Living Historical Fiction Anthony Hill , 2009 single work essay
— Appears in: Magpies : Talking About Books for Children , July vol. 24 no. 3 2009; (p. 12-13) Hill talks about the maxim he shares with novelist Patrick O'Brian, that 'authenticity is a jewel' when it comes to historical fiction.
Short, But Eventful, Life for French Boy Jennifer Moran , 2002 single work column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 3 September 2002; (p. 4)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (14)

Awards

VIEW ALL AWARDS (1)
Last amended 18 Apr 2016 07:51:08
Subjects:
  • 1918-1928
Settings:
  • c
    France,
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • c
    Germany,
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • c
    England,
    c
    c
    United Kingdom (UK),
    c
    Western Europe, Europe,
  • Queensland,
  • Melbourne, Victoria,
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X