On Anzac Day, I lament an uncle – a Wiradjuri warrior and a hero few Australians know of – lost somewhere in France. May our country one day find the peace that he and so many like him fought for, writes Stan Grant.
Banjo handcrafted by Rat of Tobruk reveals realities of life on WWII battlefield
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Tucked away in a treasure trove of military artefacts in an Australian museum lies a handmade musical instrument.
Australian World War II soldier Walter John Jack Darnley fashioned together the banjo-like instrument from bits and bobs he gathered while enduring life as a Rat of Tobruk in the trenches of northern Africa in 1941.
A toothbrush, discarded wood, an old drum and a dixie tin formed the bulk of the banjo s parts.
Jack Darnley s handmade banjo-like instrument is known as the Darnley Dixaline.