Dr Mark Johnston [ 16/Feb/15 ]

Post date: Feb 15, 2015 4:18:38 AM

Jerry Guirguis interview Dr Mark Johnston, is one of Australia’s leading authorities on the Second World War. Author of 10 books on this topic, including Alamein: the Australian Story, with Peter Stanley and Anzacs in the Middle East: Australian soldiers, their allies and the local people in World War II.

He has visited Egypt twice on research visits, currently writing his 11^th book on a company of Australian soldiers who fought in Libya, Egypt, New Guinea and Borneo in World War II. Tonight, Mark will be speaking to us about Australians in Egypt, both on the battlefield and in their interactions with Egyptian, here on 96.5FM - the Egyptian radio show [ Monday 16^th February 2015, 6:30pm Melbourne ].

I am indebted to the support of the Australian Army History Unit, especially.

Dr Andrew Richardson

Historian

Australian Army History Unit www.army.gov.au/Our-history/Army-History-Unit

Shrine of Remembrance Melbourne http://www.shrine.org.au/Home

Australian War Memorial www.awm.gov.au

We have the following list of guests to be interviewed over the next months;

9th Feb 2015 - Professor Peter Stanley [ UNSW ]

16th Feb 2015 – Dr Mark Johnston

23^rd Feb 2015 – Peter Daley

2^nd Mar 2015 – Light Horse Museum – Nar Nar Goon Vic.

9th Mar 2015 - Egyptian Minister for International Cooperation

9^th Mar 2015 - Malek Triki [ world War one through Arabs Eyes

16th Mar 2015 - Egypt Assistant Foreign Minister - Mohamed Khairat

23rd Mar 2015 - H.E. Barney Riley - New Zealand Ambassador to Egypt

30th Mar 2015 - H.E. Dr Ralph King - Australian Ambassador to Egypt

25th Apr 2015 - Anzac day dawn service Cairo Egypt [ Anzac-Egypt 2015 Tour attending ]

Anzac-Egypt 2015 Tour [ please contact Jerry Guirguis jerry.guirguis@gmail.com

This year, on 25ht April 21015, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) will commemorate it’s Centenary, Anzac was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that was formed in Egypt in 1915, our radio station [ 95.5FM – Egyptian radio show, Melbourne Australia, English Edition ] have been covering the Anzac Day Dawn service that's held in Cairo Egypt with our Australian Ambassador [ Dr Ralph King ] since 2013.

This year 2015, we understand it will be New Zealand - Egypt Embassy’s turn to host the Centenary of Anzac, we are in the process of putting the final stages of our tour, to visit Egypt and attend the dawn service on 25^th April 2015 [ ANZAC – Egypt 2015 tour ], held at the Cairo Commonwealth Grave Cemetery.

Fly out Saturday 18^th April 2015 – leave Cairo-Egypt Friday 1^st May 2015

6:30pm – Our 1^st special guests tonight is Dr Mark Johnston

Hi and welcome, can we start with ......................

Churchill: "This is not the end" (nov. 1942) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdRH5wzCQQw

Oct 23 1942 – 12 days offensive

WW II specialist, 10+1 book on its way;

2002 Co-Authors - Alamein : the Australian Story (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2002

Authors : Dr Peter Stanley from [ UNSW ] and Dr Mark Johnston

2012 – Jill Edwards - El Alamein and the Struggle for North Africa, edited by Jill Edwards, published in 2012 by the American University in Cairo Press.

Jill Edwards speaks about the Battle of El Alamein on the occasion of its 70th anniversary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fl2kKNeLa4

Q1] What’s correlation between your book of 2002 and Jill’s 2012?

It came out of a book that Mark Johnston and Peter Stanley published in 2002 – Alamein: the Australian Story (Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 2002)

Q2] When did you and Peter Visit Egypt ?

You visited Egypt twice on research with Peter Stanley [ interviewed, just last week on 9^th Feb 2015 here on 96.5FM – Egyptian radio show ].

Q3] Anzacs in the Middle East: Australian soldiers, their allies and the local people in World War II.

A chapter of this book is about Australians in Egypt, both on the battlefield and in their interactions with the Egyptians.

Tell us about it ?

http://www.cambridge.org/au/academic/subjects/history/military-history/anzacs-middle-east-australian-soldiers-their-allies-and-local-people-world-war-ii

Anzacs in the Middle East is a compelling exploration of the experiences of soldiers who fought in the Middle East during World War II. Spurred by a sense of adventure and duty, they set sail to countries of which they knew very little. The book examines the relationships between Australians and their allies and also how they related to the local people: Greeks, Egyptians, Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians. Mark Johnston draws on extensive research to provide a new perspective on the famous campaigns at Tobruk and Alamein, as well as significant but less familiar battles at Bardia, Retimo and Damascus. Featuring first-hand accounts and stories from the front line, the book discovers the true nature of the 'larrikin Australian' and is a must-read for anyone interested in Australia's military history.

This book is a companion volume to Mark Johnston's previous books, At the Front Line and Fighting the Enemy.

Q4] the 11^th book - ?????

The book is about a company of Australian soldiers who fought in Libya, Egypt, New Guinea and Borneo in World War II.

Nov 1914 – Australian Imperial Force, arrive in Egypt and set up camp and start their military training at Mena – Cairo

28^th Jan 1915 – a skirmish/battle at Suez Canal

2^nd April 1915 – another skirmish / FIRST WASSA

Anzac Cove, Turkey, April 25, 1915.

Second Wassa, Egypt, July 31, 1915.

Um Rakhum, Egypt, December 13, 1915.

Gebel Medwa, Egypt, December 25, 1915.

1916 – Sinai theatre

Halazin, Egypt, January 23, 1916.