Fair Dinkum (def.): honesty, guts, directness, fortitude, courage, truth

You had to be fair dinkum to enlist after the hell of Gallipoli hit home.

A new breed of warrior and patriot stepped up as Anzac’s second wave. Among them were 152 men of the 7th Battalion – fruit pickers and farmers, bootmakers and blacksmiths, miners and mailmen. They fought under the colours of ‘mud and blood’ in the searing sands of Egypt, on Gallipoli’s fatal shore, across killing fields in France and beyond. Born in the right place at the wrong time, the bravery and ingenuity of these young Australian men forged a legendary band of brothers: ‘The Fair Dinkums’.

Glenn McFarlane is a senior reporter and Associate Sports Editor at Melbourne’s Herald Sun. He has been a journalist for 26 years and has written nine books, including The Official Collingwood Illustrated Encylopedia; The Machine: The Inside Story of Football’s Greatest Team; Jock, the story of legendary coach Jock McHale; and collaborated with champion Hawthorn footballer Shane Crawford on his bestselling autobiography, That’s What I’m Talking About.