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Dark and Hurrying Days: Menzies' 1941 Diary

Edited by A.W. Martin and Patsy Hardy

Dark and Hurrying Days is the text of a diary kept by Robert Menzies, then Prime Minister of Australia, of his experiences during a wartime trip to England in 1941. It was a grim time when British cities were enduring heavy bombing and German invasion seemed imminent. In London Menzies sat in the War Cabinet, talked with ministers and civil servants and had some disturbing encounters with English leaders, particularly Churchill. En route to England, he had proudly visited Australian troops who had played a major part in the North African victories.

Menzies' Diary reveals the shifting feelings and fears which these experiences engendered in him, and is of prime importance in capturing the brooding spirit of this grim time.

Information on authors:

Dr Allan Martin has taught at the universities of New South Wales, Melbourne and Adelaide, and was from 1966 to 1973 Foundation Professor of History at La Trobe University, Melbourne. Until his retirement in 1992 he was Senior Fellow in History at the Australian National University. Dr Martin is the author of Henry Parkes: A Biography and Robert Menzies: A Life, Volume I 1894-1943.

Patsy Hardy (1941-1994) had a varied background in historical research, editing and publishing. She taught History at both Melbourne and Monash universities and was Field Officer and later Publications Manager at the State Library of Victoria. In 1985 she moved to Canberra to assist Dr Martin in his biography on Sir Robert Menzies.

ISBN 0 642 19285 5
1993, pb, B5, 187 pp, b&w illus.

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Last updated 11 September 2000