Alex Lloyd was recently interviewed about the origins of LIFE ON THE LINE, and the preceding Thistle Productions projects FOR SCHOOL AND COUNTRY and BARNEY GREATREX.
You can read the article in the news section. of the OKGA website at https://okga.org.au/lotl
Alex Lloyd at the Australian War Memorial
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Today's conversation is with World War II veteran Antony Greatrex. The RAAF veteran is the younger brother of the late Barney Greatrex, who our long-time podcast listeners will remember from Season 1. Barney had an epic war – a bomb aimer in Bomber Command, shot down, the only survivor of his Lancaster, eight months fighting with the French Resistance against the Germans, ending in a Legion of Honour in 2016 and a book in 2017. The memory of Antony’s war has always lived a bit in Barney’s shadow. Antony, along with half a million other Australians who put on a uniform, never went overseas to fight. He had a logistical support role – a high-frequency direction finder, or Huff-Duff operator. But after knowing the family some years, Antony invited Alex Lloyd to his home to finally go on the record about his World War II service.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Every week we also have a bonus episode, where we speak to historians, authors and others in the veterans community. Today's bonus episode is with the makers of this podcast, Thistle Productions. The original crew of Angus Hordern, Alex Lloyd, Thomas Kaye and Rohan Viswalingam reflect on their first veterans project, the documentary miniseries FOR SCHOOL AND COUNTRY, and how the team became so invested in telling veterans' stories.
World War II veteran Barney Greatrex passed away on 17 February 2018. This podcast is a short eulogy to this hero, and some highlights of his story, including recordings of the great man himself.
9 April 1920 - 17 February 2018. Vale Barney Greatrex, Lest We Forget.
Listen here to our interview with author Michael Veitch about his career of writing about Australian airmen, including Barney Greatrex; and listen here to highlights from the BARNEY GREATREX book launch. We also produced a book trailer. We spoke to Barney's nephew, Charlie Mort, about their 2013 trip to France.
Life on the Line tracks down Australian war veterans and records their stories. Most weeks we also have a bonus episode, where we speak to historians, authors and others in the veterans community. Today's bonus episode is with Charlie Mort. For the final episode of Season 1, we’re back to the story of Barney Greatrex. Barney was a bomb aimer in Bomber Command, the sole survivor of his Lancaster being shot down, and then spent eight months fighting the Germans with the French Resistance in Occupied France. In 2013, his nephew, Charlie Mort, orchestrated an incredible family trip to France to retrace Barney’s crash site, the places he went to on his journey, and meeting the relatives of those with whom he fought. Ninety-three-year-old Barney was the guest of honour in this epic tour of remembrance. Alex Lloyd spoke to Charlie about the trip, and how they went about retracing the Resistance.
Barney Greatrex - from Bomber Command to the French Resistance - the stirring story of an Australian hero. BARNEY GREATREX is the biography of World War II veteran Barney Greatrex. Written by Michael Veitch, based on the research by Alex Lloyd and Angus Hordern. This book was inspired by the documentary miniseries FOR SCHOOL AND COUNTRY by Thistle Productions, the makers of this podcast. We collaborated with publisher Hachette and bestselling author Michael Veitch to produce this awesome account of Barney’s life.
