The Digger of Kokoda: The Official Biography of Reg Chard

The Digger of Kokoda: The Official Biography of Reg Chard

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  • Create Date：2022-07-17 04:51:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：Daniel Lane
  • ISBN：1761260278
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Summary

The battle that saved Australia。 The track that saved one man's life。


Reg Chard endured hell as an 18-year-old Australian soldier who fought in 1942 on the infamous Kokoda Trail in World War II。

Ironically， Kokoda rescued Reg decades later when he decided to take his own life。 After losing Betty， his wife of 66 years， the grief-stricken great-grandfather lost the will to live。 But he found new purpose through educating young people， giving guided tours of Sydney's Kokoda Track Memorial Walkway。

On these tours， Reg relives Kokoda every day。 He sees an image on the wall of a soldier - a comrade - who succumbed to disease weeks after the photograph was taken。 He feels his heart beating as his patrol chases down Japanese troops who had mutilated women in a jungle clearing。 He hears the war cry of a samurai sword-wielding officer charging towards him。 And he tells these stories along the walkway， preserving the memory of those who never came home。

As one of the last surviving diggers of Kokoda， Reg Chard has become a custodian of its legacy。 This deeply moving， healing and inspiring biography of the 98-year-old veteran tells us of Reg's war in the jungle and how， 80 years after the battle that saved Australia， Kokoda still lives within him。


Praise for The Digger of Kokoda

'Reading the story of Reg Chard and his fellow servicemen only reinforces how grateful we all should be to the soldiers who sacrificed everything in order for us to have the privileged life we often take for granted。 These men were full of bravery， courage and conviction yet were regularly battling against the odds in the knowledge they may not see out the day。 Every word of this story has meaning， importance and impact and I for one am indebted to those who have served our nation to make it what it is today。' - Steve Waugh

'The Digger of Kokoda is a gripping read about an all-Australian hero， Reg Chard， who like so many of that WWII generation had greatness in him， only revealed when he was called on to put everything on the line for his country。 This biography evocatively portrays the hardships of the Kokoda campaign， the sacrifices made， and the irrepressible spirit of the Australian soldiers and nursing sisters。 Bravo the lot of them， and this book。' - Peter Fitzsimons

'The lessons and life experiences of Reg Chard are ones all Australians today could learn a lot from。 The Digger of Kokoda was very honest and gave me a new perspective and understanding of what they went through and why。 Warm， moving， heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measure。 The greatest lesson I take from Reg is his quote: "Make the most of life， because no matter how bad something may seem， life goes on - just make sure you go with it。"' - Emma McKeon

'A lifetime ago， no series of battles were more critical nor horrendous than those of the New Guinea campaign - Kokoda and the likes of Sanananda。 Reg Chard was a typical and thus extraordinary digger who fought in those battles and survived， to this day mourning and honouring his many mates who fell。 This brilliant account by Daniel Lane， of Reg's war service， reminds us all of the price of peace so many of our predecessors have paid。 A great story。' - General Sir Peter Cosgrove

'I have an immense respect and admiration for Reg Chard - the Digger of Kokoda。 He's a genuine Australian hero whose story could help teach our nation's youth the importance of resilience， grit， and mateship。 Reg， and others like him， should be honoured in our school system to ensure the Anzac/Kokoda spirit thrives 。 。 。 reading this man's powerful story is a perfect start to guaranteeing that。' - Danny Green

'Reg Chard's biography transported me straight back to the jungle in New Guinea and rekindled memories of walking the Trail later in my life。 The written word of the Kokoda Trail will last long into history like the track itself。 The Digger of Kokoda is essential reading for any Australian。' - Keith Payne VC

'The Digger of Kokoda offers a deeper understanding of what it means to be an Australian and the inspiration to be a better person。' - Dr Brendan Nelson

'In a world where an internet outage is deemed a catastrophe， The Digger of Kokoda is a masterclass in perspective and relativity。 If this book doesn't get you to the Dawn Service on Anzac Day， nothing will。' - John Schumann

'Grittily honest， told with great sensitivity， this is the finest account of Kokoda by a front-line soldier that I've read。 Reg Chard， only 18 when he fought the Japanese in Papua， tells much more than another "mud and blood" story。 Now 98， he shows how the experience touched his life and， in an extraordinary twist， saved him from his own demons after his wife died。 The true story of a boy soldier who faced some of the worst battles of the Pacific War。' - Paul Ham

'In Reg Chard's compelling account of Kokoda， we gain a unique insight into war's madness 。。。 The Digger of Kokoda is a modern digger's time capsule full of the human lessons of war and soldering that never change。' -
Anthony 'Harry' Moffitt

'Reg's memoir reminds us of all the extraordinary acts committed by ordinary people and fills a Digger like myself with pride in the honour of donning the same badge they wore。' - Damien Thomlinson

'Courage， endurance， mateship and sacrifice are qualities synonymous with Kokoda and Australia's national identity。 They embody， too， the service and life of Reg Chard。 His is a story that will inspire。' - Dr Karl James

'Raw， vivid and searingly honest， Reg Chard's personal account of Kokoda is one of the most moving I've ever read。 From the nightmare of Eora Creek to the terrible swamps of Sanananda， I felt I was right there， and it's not a pretty place。 One of the last true voices， Reg reaches across the decades to remind us of what our men did， and how much they endured。' - Michael Veitch

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Reviews

David Cameron ，

This one-star rating in no way should be seen as reflecting on Mr Chard and his war and peacetime contribution to Australia – this rating alone reflects on the publication standards – or lack thereof – by the author and publisher。 There are so many easily refutable errors in this book， which are not the fault of Mr Chard， but the author and publisher who should have ensured these errors in memory from a 98-year-old war veteran were corrected before this book was published。 The most disturbing is This one-star rating in no way should be seen as reflecting on Mr Chard and his war and peacetime contribution to Australia – this rating alone reflects on the publication standards – or lack thereof – by the author and publisher。 There are so many easily refutable errors in this book， which are not the fault of Mr Chard， but the author and publisher who should have ensured these errors in memory from a 98-year-old war veteran were corrected before this book was published。 The most disturbing is the allegation of the war crime against 25 'European' women。 Its inclusion alone in this book means it cannot be given more than a one-star rating for publishing such a significant war crime as fact without conducting even a basic fact check。If the massacre chapter had not been included in this book by Mr Lane this review would never have been written。 Given the historical significance of this allegation， backed by Mr Lane and Pan MacMillan， this cannot be allowed to stand untested。 This incident as described is in my opinion a false memory from a 98-year-old battle scared and traumatised digger likely associated with his wartime service to Australia， and later readings that have become part of his wartime experience （if it was relayed as written by the author）。 This chapter should have been removed。 The other errors below are to merely highlight how even a very basic fact check before publication has not been done。 There is no way they should have relied solely on the memory of a 98-year-old digger， who not surprisingly is having troubles recalling accurately events of 80 years ago， and 80 years on is still possibly suffering PTSD from his wartime experiences。 As such， Mr Chard cannot be held accountable for the inaccuracies in this book， which would have been identified and corrected with even a very basic fact check before publication。 Mr Lane writes that General Allen makes an appearance within hours of General MacArthur’s visit to Owers’ Corner， described as a: ‘bloke dressed in Bombay bloomers that were pulled up， boots without any socks， a ragged shirt unbuttoned to reveal his bulging belly， and a battered slouch hat …。 My name is Tubby …。 You can address me as General Allen ’。 General Arthur ‘Tubby’ Allen was with generals MacArthur and Blamey on 3 October 1942 visiting Owers’ Corner （only day that MacArthur ever visited Owers’ Corner， thus we know the date）。 General Allen certainly would not have dressed as described while with MacArthur and Blamey。 Indeed， he never dressed as such when a week later he was on the track in the heart of the Owen Stanleys， let alone while travelling with generals MacArthur and Blamey！ Mr Lane also writes that General Allen that day – 3 October – collected Mr Chard and a handful of others from the militia 55th Battalion and with them moved forward to the front line to reinforce the 2/33rd Battalion。 However， the three 2nd AIF battalions of the 16th brigade， the 2/1st， 2/2nd， and the 2/3rd battalions had landed in Port Morseby on 23/24 September， and that day – 3 October – this brigade began its advance north along the Kokoda Track。 Indeed， MacArthur， Blamey， and Allen were there to see the first of these men advance along the track。 There was no shortage of troops， and no senior officer， especially General Allen would be waiting at Ower’s Corner （especially dressed as described） to push half-a-dozen militiamen up the line， they now had more troops than they could possibly feed and supply on the track。 Major General Allen was based at Port Moresby and not hanging around Ower’s Corner to take a handful of militiamen of the 55th Battalion forward to the 2/33rd Battalion。Mr Lane writes that weeks later Mr Chard was transported back down the Kokoda Track on a stretcher with malaria， having made his way to Eora Creek （battle of Eora Creek was from 20 to 28 October）。 As such we can date this to late October。 If Mr Lane bothered to check Mr Chard’s detailed medical history in his service record， he would see that Mr Chard was not admitted to hospital with Malaria until 19 December 1942。 Even so， Mr Lane then records that Mr Chard， after a week on the track back to Moresby spent two weeks in hospital and another week walking back up the track to the 2/33 Battalion – thus he could not make it back to Kokoda until around 20 November。 However， Mr Lane also has Mr Chard at Kokoda in early November stating he was in the area during the flag raising ceremony – 3 November and within days was fighting at Gorari。 Clearly it would have been physically impossible for Mr Chard to be on the track being carried back south to Port Morseby from Eora Creek in late October and be at Kokoda and Gorari on the northern coastal plains of Papua in early November。 Mr Lane also has Mr Chard collapsing at Sanananda the day after its capture 22 January 1943， however， as shown above， Mr Chard was hospitalised with malaria on 19 December and according to his service record was evacuated from Moresby onboard the 'SS Katoomba' back to Australia on 5 January 1943。Mr Lane also writes that Mr Chard was filmed by Damien Parer on the Kokoda Track， and that he appeared in his academy award winning film ‘Kokoda Front Line’。 This clearly never happened， as Mr Lane has Mr Chard entering the Owen Stanley’s on 3 October 1942， by then Damian Parer was back in Sydney having already completed and screened his film ‘Kokoda Front Line’ which premiered in Sydney on 22 September 1942。 It is possible， however， that Mr Chard was filmed by Parer in Port Morseby，The most grievous and explosive chapter is entitled ‘The Massacre。’ Mr Lane and Pan MacMillan should have deleted this chapter from their book。 As discussed above， this is almost certainly a false memory from a war scared digger， if it has been told to Mr Lane as written。 Mr Lane records a significant war crime being conducted by the Japanese on the coastal plains of Papua in late 1942， the killing and ‘butchering’ of 25 women。 There is absolutely no evidence at all to support this false allegation， official or unofficial。 Cameron recently outlined in detail the story and fate of the women and children who were in this region during that time。 All have been accounted for （their murders fully documented）， and there are no missing 25 European women as Mr Lane and Pan MacMillan would have us believe。 Also， with literally thousands of Papuans within and outside the Japanese beachheads， how did none come forward with any information about these 25 women。 Indeed within weeks the Australian administration was re-established in the area， and anyone coming forward with such significant information， even just seeing these women， let alone their massacre， would have been granted a significant reward and this information would have resulted in an large scale official investigation。Mr Lane records how a handful of men， without an NCO or officer leading them， went out in search of these woman， guided by a Papuan。 These men found these women about one days march from their position， likely towards Gona （which was by then crawling with other Australians from the 21st and 25th brigades）。 As described and using Mr Lane's timeline， this occurred during the vicious fighting for Gona and Sanananda。 As these battles were raging all around this area， Mr Lane writes that around 40 drunken Japanese officers were standing around （unprotected/ unguarded） the decapitated and mutilated bodies of 25 European women。 These Japanese must have been outside of the Japanese beachhead defences， within the heart of the Australian sector， or did these Australians break into the Japanese beachhead defences in an attempt to rescue these women？ This small party allegedly successfully charged over 20 metres of open ground and killed all these officers in revenge。 In their attack apparently only one un-named Australian （only referred to as the ‘Believer’） was killed。 After collecting the Japanese IDs and presumably other valuable military intelligence， and presumably the IDs relating to the dead women （as it is alluded to that the Australians knew the nationality and profession of these dead women）， they then destroyed all information， to obliterate these Japanese from history。Mr Lane then records that these men returned to their unit and that they reported the death of their mate and the fate of the 25 unburied mutilated European women， and presumably the killing of 40 Japanese officers， to their un-named officer， who was unconcerned about the massacre and death toll of enemy officers， and did not bother to record it or even relay this significant information to his superior officer。 The ‘Believer’s body remained behind with the dead women。 So， no details of the location were provided， and no one was sent out to bury the Australian soldier and women， nor was anyone sent out to try and identify these 25 European。 A junior officer completely ignored a significant war crime conducted by the enemy in his own sector。What makes this book especially concerning is that Cameron warned Mr Lane through Pan MacMillan months ago about the likely false narratives in this book （writing that Mr Chard may be confused and had mistakenly recalled fighting on the Sanananda Track as being on the Kokoda Track）。 In reading this story my worst fears were confirmed。 At the time Cameron offered to correct the book， at no payment， other than a contribution be made by Mr Lane from his advance or royalties to a charity of Cameron’s choice – no response was forthcoming。 Distressingly， however， Mr Lane and Pan MacMillan went ahead， failing to do simple due diligence in fact checking， and ensuring they took seriously their duty of care to a Second World War veteran who deserves our respect， and needed to get his story and contribution to military history correct; again this chapter should have been culled in the first draft of the book。 In my opinion Mr Lane and Pan Macmillan are guilty of either: 1） gross incompetency in their lack of due diligence in fact checking and/or 2） given they were aware of the potential embarrassing problems in their book， I can only conclude they pursued financial reward over fact-based history and a duty of care to a 98-year-old war veteran， whose true story should have been told and his contribution recognised。 Australia has a lot to be proud of in terms of our military contributions in war and peace operations。 There is a real danger that the very real and significant contribution made by the Australian men and women of the ADF， including Mr Chard’s contribution， will be undermined by publishing books that the author and publisher were warned was full of significant and substantial errors （which could and should have been checked and corrected） – facts matter！ 。。。more

Rowan ，

“You have seen things at this place that no man should witness。 Some of these things you must forget。 But history will remember you， and in the years to come others will wish that they had your conviction。” - Lt Col Ralph HonnerIn sharing his story， Reg allowed me to learn of the horrors my own grandfather was unable to speak about。 For that I’m grateful。 The Digger of Kokoda will stay with me， just as the spirit of those who fought for Australia will live on and stay an integral part of our nat “You have seen things at this place that no man should witness。 Some of these things you must forget。 But history will remember you， and in the years to come others will wish that they had your conviction。” - Lt Col Ralph HonnerIn sharing his story， Reg allowed me to learn of the horrors my own grandfather was unable to speak about。 For that I’m grateful。 The Digger of Kokoda will stay with me， just as the spirit of those who fought for Australia will live on and stay an integral part of our nation’s identity。 Daniel Lane has brilliantly captured the voice of Reg Chard （one of our last remaining WWII Kokoda veterans）。 It feels like sitting down with Reg as he shares his life story。 It’s down to earth and the first-person narrative is effective – I’d never read a Kokoda account from this perspective before。Lane manages to recreate the dialogue of Reg and his mates too， which highlights the Aussie camaraderie and sense of humour that makes our nation unique。 I didn’t expect to laugh so much – if I suddenly discover food missing from my pantry， I’ll assume Reg ‘Scrounger’ Chard isn’t too far away！At the heart of the book is Reg’s love story with his beloved Betty （his relationship with his Mum is touching too）。 Whenever things got emotional， it was usually centered around their remarkable life together。 “I was going to marry that girl; my first task was the minor matter of finding out who she was。”I was somewhat surprised that Kokoda itself didn't appear until around page 200。 The Digger of Kokoda is a biography in the truest sense， in that it covers Reg Chard’s entire life。 The book doubles as a history lesson on aspects of Australian life during the era。 I better appreciate why so many young men jumped at the chance to enlist， after living through the Great Depression。“It’s impossible to explain to people who didn’t live through that era how tough a time it was。 I had no shoes， so I walked barefoot everywhere I went。”Australia's woeful unpreparedness made for eye-opening reading。“When the Japanese bombed the US Pacific Fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941， Australia was a nation on its knees。 We were so bloody helpless it was pathetic。”It wasn’t just the lack of defence and supplies （broomsticks used for rifle training） but Australia’s literal assistance in Japan’s war machine – Reg has an especially infuriating encounter with a certain piece of shrapnel after a bombing raid。Reg’s firsthand descriptions of battles were effectively portrayed by Daniel Lane。 I found myself holding my breath while reading。 I could physically feel what it must have been like for men such as Reg in the frontlines。 The parallels between Reg’s experiences and those of my grandfather were plenty – it’s easy to understand why both were plagued by nightmares for the rest of their lives。“That anticipation that the Japanese were about to explode from out of the shadows of the jungle’s canopy without any notice was terrifying。”One of the toughest things I’ve read was the depiction of a massacre site and other Japanese war crimes。 The conditions， terrain and tropical diseases were just as harrowing， and drove home how heroic and courageous these young diggers were。 Australia’s failure to properly recognise efforts of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels， who saved so many， is laid bare too。“They really were the closest beings to guardian angels in human form。”The level of detail in which Reg recalls the events of his 98 years of life is impressive。 The photographs were effective in showcasing both the war and Reg’s life too。The closing pages are an inspiring example on how to push forward when life feels too much; something I’ll remember and apply to my own life。 Daniel Lane has told an important Australian story; one that while uniquely ‘Reg’ also represents many others no longer here to tell theirs。 Thank you for your sacrifices and service， Reg， and to all those who bravely fought alongside you， including TX8677。“Make the most of life， because no matter how bad something may seem， life goes on - just make sure you go with it。”Thanks to Pan Macmillan Australia for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Digger of Kokoda: The Official Biography of Reg Chard

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Digger of Kokoda: The Official Biography of Reg Chard&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Digger of Kokoda: The Official Biography of Reg Chard&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0