Series 02: Alan Gibson Stewart papers, 1987-1989 - Page 1
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[Page 1]
[Following the synopsis of an account of the Persian Expedition, pages 1 to 7, is a typescript of the autobiography of Allan Gibson Stewart who was NSW Labour Party MLA for Manly from 1978 - 1984. It was published as Hard Row to Hoe in 1988. He was also author of Persian Expedition:The Australians in Dunsterforce, 1918, published in 2006]
ALAN STEWART
PERSIAN EXPEDITION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .NSWUP
Outline (5/3/89)
One: Sons of the Empire
-Stalemate in the trenches of the Western Front. The depleted Australian divisions are pulled back to recover during the winter of 1917. The Third Division had suffered heavy casualties in a gallant but futile attack on the German positions at Passchendaele. Captain Roy Stewart is one of the few survivors from the 34th Battalion. Billeted in a French village, their task is to give battle training to the fresh reinforcements. Leave in Paris is hard on the pocket and the heart. Volunteers are called for a secret mission on another front. Monash, commander of the Division, chooses Stewart and five other officers. On the other side of Europe, a revolution has occured in Russia, and the Bolsheviks are in control in Moscow.
Two: To the Tower
-Twenty Australian officers are ordered to proceed from France to England, posthaste. Included are Captains Cecil Judge, Stan Savige, and Roy Stewart They report to the Tower of London. There they meet picked officers from all over the British Empire, also some elegant Czarist Russians. The members of "The Hush Hush Push" are given money to buy complete tropical and artic kits. They enjoy leave in wartime London. Twenty Australian NCOs are sent from France. They are to be sent to the Caucasus to form "Dunsterforce"--under the command of the legendary General Dunsterville (Kipling's "Stalky"). Their task is to prevent the Germans reaching India (or is it?). The plan is to recruit local troops from the Caucasus and Persia, to replace the Czarist Army which has fragmented after the revolution.
Three: Stalky"s last chance
-Schoolboy adventures at "Westwad Ho". Kipling creates the legend of "Stalky". Dunsterville's long career fails to win recognition. He returns to England without a job. Kipling helps his old friend. He is given command of "Dunsterforce". A race against the Turks and Bolsheviks to Tiflis. General Marshal, Commander of British Army in Mesopotamia is against intervention in the Caucasus. However, "Dunsterforce" is not under his