author
Herbert Brayley Collett
1877–1947
A soldier, librarian, and public figure from Western Australia, he wrote with firsthand knowledge of the First World War and the people who served in it. His best-known work, The 28th, stands out for its detailed record of one Australian battalion's wartime experience.
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About the author
Born in Guernsey in 1877 and brought to Western Australia as a child, Herbert Brayley Collett built an unusually wide-ranging career in public life. He worked as a librarian from a young age, served in the military, and later became a senator and government minister in Australia.
As a writer, he is best remembered for The 28th: A Record of War Service in the Australian Imperial Force, 1915–19, a history of the 28th Battalion shaped by his own military background. That blend of research, service, and close knowledge of Australian institutions gives his work a practical, eyewitness quality that still appeals to readers interested in war history.
Collett died in 1947. Today he is remembered not only as a politician and soldier, but also as an author who helped preserve the story of Australian service in the First World War.