Listen free for 30 days
Listen with offer
-
The Ballad of Les Darcy
- Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
99p for the first 3 months
The Ballad of Les Darcy
Buy Now for £13.99
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
Editor reviews
A biography of one of Australia's most intriguing characters, written by one of the nation's most popular authors. Les Darcy was a legendary Australian boxer called to fight during WWI, though he felt duty-bound to stay home and continue working to help his family out of poverty. Caught up in the politics around conscription, he ended up leaving the country, but became an Australian folk hero. Author Peter Fitzsimons provides a poignant take on Darcy's short but fascinating life, while performer Humphrey Bower narrates in a steady, welcoming style.
Summary
That was the message Australia's great "Blacksmith Boxer" was getting, as debate about conscription raged in the middle of World War I. The problem was that Les Darcy didn't want to march at the fore of such a procession, nor to such a destination. He wanted to continue what he had been doing to extraordinary acclaim before the war began - taking on the best boxers the world could throw at him, and lifting his entire family out of poverty as he did so. Torn between the duty he felt he owed his family, and the duty many felt he owed his country, Les made his choice ... and faced the consequences.
And so unfolds a ballad of love, war, betrayal, mystery, patriotism and heroism; a ballad of a champion whose story still has the power to move the stoniest heart.