Paul Byrnes - The Lost Boys

Join us as Paul Byrnes discusses his new book The Lost Boys, the incredibly powerful and moving stories of the ANZAC kids who lied about their age to fight in World War I. Paul will be in conversation with Paul Daley.

About the Book

In the Great War of 1914–1918, thousands of boys across Australia and New Zealand lied about their age, forged a parent’s signature and left to fight in a war on the other side of the world. Though some were as young as thirteen, they soon found they could die as well as any man.

Like Peter Pan’s lost boys, they have remained forever young. These are their stories.

This extraordinary book captures the incredible and previously untold stories of 40 Anzac boys who fought in the Great War, from Gallipoli to the Armistice. Featuring haunting images of the boys taken at training camps and behind the lines, these tales are both heartbreaking and rousing, full of daring, ingenuity, recklessness, random horror and capricious luck.

A unique perspective on World War I, The Lost Boys is military history made deeply personal, a powerful homage to youthful bravery and a poignant reminder of the horror of war.

The Lost Boys is fully illustrated throughout featuring stunning portraits from the Australian National War Memorial archives, featuring stunning photography, exquisite writing, incredibly moving stories. Military history has never been so personal.

About the Author

Paul Byrnes joined The Sydney Morning Herald in 1976, reporting from various corners of the world for a decade, before specialising as a feature writer and film critic. He was director of the Sydney Film Festival for ten years, until 1998. In 2007, he won the Pascall prize, Australia’s highest award for critical writing in the arts. This book is the result of a lifelong interest in the Great War. He lives in Australia and France.