Digger Smith

C. J. Dennis

Synopsis

Those who have read Ginger Mick will perhaps remember little Smith uv Collin’wood, one of the singing soldiers who ‘ ‘owled a fightin’ tune at Sari Bair’. Though Mick was lost at Gallipoli, little Smith returned to become a country neighbour of Doreen and the Bloke and it is through their compassionate eyes that we follow his story. In true Dennis style it is told with human-hearted wisdom and the humour that is close to tears.

Digger Smith was written during the last months of the war and, formed a natural sequel to Ginger Mick. Digger Smith describes the effects of the war upon the men who made it home.

The narrative unfolds through a series of poems that delve into the life of Digger Smith, a soldier who returns from war with a prosthetic leg. Through his eyes and the voices of those around him, readers witness the challenges faced by veterans adjusting back to civilian life.

The original book consists of 13 verse stories written in the vernacular prose made famous by Dennis. The selected poems below are proceeded by the first 3 poems of the book. They set the scene in the Bloke’s rural farming community and explore their emotions, struggles, and the impact of war on the families left behind. We are introduced to the Blokes neighbours, ole Mar and Dad Flood, whose two sons Syd and Jim took different paths to join the AIF. We learn Syd was killed at Suvla Bay, and Jim suffered an unknown fate. Dad Flood struggles to maintain the farm but refuses help until the arrival of Digger Smith.

The seven poems selected below encapsulate the promise Digger Smith gave to his mate Jim Flood, and his struggles to adapt to a normal life, the welcome home of Jim Flood, and the resumption of family and community life after WWI.