Glyn Harper

Genre:

  • History

Skills:

Branch:

Central Districts

Location:

Foxton Beach

Publications:

Turning the Hinge of Fate: the Second Battle of El Alamein: October-November 1942

Indiana University Press - 2017

Acts of Valour

Auckland, HarperCollins, 2016. With Colin Richardson. A revised edition of 'In the Face of the enemy' (2007) to include the theft of the medals from the National Army Museum, the Manahi resolution and Willie Apiata's VC.

Johnny Enzed: The New Zealand Soldier in the First World War

Auckland, Exisle Press, 2015. A volume of the Centenary History of New Zealand and the First World War. The stories of the NZ experience in the FWW. From enlistment to their return to NZ. Told using the diaries and letters - many never before published.

The Battles of Monte Cassino. The campaign and its controversies

Auckland, Allen & Unwin, 2013. With John Tonkin-Covell. The Allied forces action in and around Monte Cassino in Italy remain some of the most controversial of the Second World War. To be released in Poland in 2017.

Images of War. New Zealand and the First World War in photographs.

Auckland, HarperCollins Publishers, 2013. A hard cover revised edition of Images of War, World War One, A photographic record of New Zealanders at war 1914-1918 (2008). Photos from the Archives at Waiouru and many never previously published.

Best and Bravest. Kiwis Awarded the Victoria Cross - young adults

With Colin Richardson, Auckland, HarperCollins Publishers, 2016. A revised edition (2006). Includes Willie Apiata and some beautiful illustrations by Colin Richardson.

Books for children

Gladys goes to War, Auckland, Puffin Books, 2016. Roly the Anzac Donkey, Auckland, Puffin Books, 2015. (Storylines Notable Book Award 2016) Jim’s Letters, Auckland, Puffin Books, 2014. Winner Picture Book Category New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults 2015. Le Quesnoy: The Story of the Town New Zealand Saved, Auckland, Puffin Books, 2012. (Storylines Notable Book Award 2013) My Grandfather’s War, Auckland, Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd, 2007, Reprinted 2007. A revised edition will be released by Exisle Press in 2017 for the USA, UK and Aust markets. James the Cat, Christchurch, Christchurch City Libraries, 2007. The Sky Soldiers, Auckland, Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd, 2005. The Donkey Man, Auckland, Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd, 2004. Reprinted 2004 and in 2009 as a Puffin Book. Reprinted in 2015 as Roly the Anzac Donkey. Mission to East Timor, Auckland, Reed Publishing (NZ) Ltd, 2002. ( Storylines Zealand Notable Books 2003)

Bobby the littlest war hero

Puffin 2018, Illustrated by Jenny Cooper This is the story of Bobby – the littlest hero in a very big war. Bobby is a tiny canary. His best friend is Jack, a soldier in one of the tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers. Together they go deep into the tunnels under no-man’s-land. Jack’s job is to dig, while Bobby’s job is to warn the men to get out quickly when there’s dangerous gas. Bobby’s warnings save the tunnellers’ lives again and again. But Jack worries that it’s a hard life for a little bird. Will Bobby ever be free to fly again?

For King and Other Countries: The New Zealanders who fought in other services in the First World War

Massey University Press, 2019. New Zealand’s military contribution to the First World War was a massive effort for a small country. The figure most often quoted is that from October 1914 through to October 1918, just over 100,000 New Zealanders embarked for military service overseas. But that number does not include the thousands who served under other imperial flags: with the Australian Imperial Force, British army units, the Indian army, the Canadian Expeditionary Force, the American Expeditionary Force, the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force, the French Foreign Legion, and even the Ceylon Planters Rifle Corps. Nor does it include the women who served with other nations’ medical organisations or by entertaining troops. This meticulously researched book details a range of New Zealanders who fought for the British Empire under other flags. They have not previously been included in First World War statistics, and there may be as many as 12,000 of them, 1400 of whom died.

My Grandfather'sWar

EK Books 2018, illustrated by Jenny Cooper A poignant story about a Vietnam veteran and his relationship with his granddaughter. While the relationship is a positive one, the young girl senses her grandfather’s pain and is curious to find out the cause of it. As she innocently seeks answers, she unknowingly opens old wounds and discovers her grandfather’s sadness is a legacy of the Vietnam War and his experiences there. This is a sensitive exploration of the lingering cost of war and of the PTSD so many returned servicemen experience. Released to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Khe Sanh (the Vietnam War’s longest battle), it also sheds light on a war that is not always remembered in the same way that the world wars and other conflicts are. Many who served experience a sense of betrayal at the treatment they received on their return, as the conflict came to be regarded as the ‘unpopular’ war, and this is covered in a child-friendly way in a note at the back of the book.