Tales of war have always been a “backstory in his life” for Armidale resident Ian Johnstone.

He grew up during WWII, the son of a captain taken prisoner of war by the Japanese in Singapore. 

So it was only natural his interest led him to write Armidale and the Great War, which tells the stories of 91 soldiers and 12 nurses who served abroad.

The former solicitor immersed himself in the city’s WWI history for three years while researching and writing the 346-page book, which also includes contributions by the local community

“I wanted to make readable stories, and I knew some of the people,” Ian said.

Those people include Hilda Hope McMaugh, matron of a private hospital near Uralla, and the first Australian woman pilot, and Sir Leslie Morshead, a former Armidale School teacher.

Morshead landed at Anzac Cove, and fought on the Western Front in WWI.

In the next war, he led the Commonwealth troops at Tobruk and El Alamein, defeating Rommel’s Afrika Korps, and again in Papua New Guinea.

The Armidale and District History Society member said he was intrigued by the names of soldiers and nurses engraved on the memorial fountain at Central Park.

“The fountain preserves their names in granite, but I think the spirit of World War I is better preserved in memoirs and poetry,” the history enthusiast said. 

“For me, the thrilling part is behind all the names is a story of somebody.

“They were all volunteers which really impressed me.”

Ian said he was inspired by the courageous attitudes of people during conflict – both at home and on the front lines.

”It was a very momentous time for so many,” he said. 

“They lived with more vigor. They did more with their little than we do with our much now.

“There was a lot of selflessness in the wars.”

​Armidale and the Great War is available from local booksellers.