Everyone working on the Chunuk Bair diorama would have quickly become aware of one of the great characters of that battle, Lt Col William Malone, commanding officer of the Wellington Infantry Battalion.
Well, in a couple of months the first biography of Malone to be written, is due to be launched: Man of Iron by Jock Vennell
From the Allen and Unwin (publisher's) website:
Man of Iron, by Jock Vennell, the first biography of one of New Zealand's best known First World War soldiers.
Lieutenant-Colonel William Malone is one of New Zealand's best-known First World War soldiers, having held off fierce Turkish counter-attacks for nearly two days before being killed by a shell from a British warship. The defence of Chunuk Bair has been described as one of New Zealand's finest hours. Malone and his men captured and held the heights of Chunuk Bair on the Gallipoli Peninsula in August 1915.
William Malone was not only an outstanding military leader, as commander of the Wellington Infantry Battalion, but also a successful farmer, lawyer and family man. His letters reveal a man unfulfilled by peacetime pursuits, and war offered him a liberation of spirit and a new sense of purpose. Leaving for the front, he wrote, 'I leave a lucrative practice, a happy home, a brave wife and children without any hesitation. I feel I am just beginning to live.'
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