Dasher

Kevin ‘Dasher’ Wheatley VC is one of the most extraordinary characters in Australian history. Dasher was a husband, father, champion footballer and one of the finest soldiers this country has ever produced. The story of his sacrifice is used by the ADF as a perfect example of valour and mateship to this day. Although he is one of the most famous Victoria Cross recipients of all time, his story has never been fully told. Until now. Dasher: The Kevin Wheatley VC Story was written with first-hand accounts from Dasher’s family and the men who served and fought alongside him. It tells not only the story of an unlikely lad from the mean streets of Sydney, but that of a soldier whose death devastated the ranks of three armies and changed the way Australia dealt with the overseas loss of service people forever. Everyone who met the man has a Dasher Wheatley story of larrikin behaviour, outstanding soldiering, stunning valour, or all three. Forwarded by Keith Payne VC and featuring the 2021 investiture of Dasher’s American Silver Star, an award 56 years in the making, this book also investigates other gallantry awards Wheatley qualified for but was never given.

"A shadow had passed. Or was it a brilliance? Both children blinked. The light-shadow was gone." So begins an adventure as significant as it is exciting. In the tradition of Lewis, Tolkein, and LeGuin, Silver Dasher offers endearing characters peopling a wondrous world in a compelling chronicle of friendship, commitment, and sacrifice. On the fantastic landscape of the Island Kingdoms, two royal children, Rhianna and Ruryk, confront a great evil. But soon they are drawn into the circle of the one who has come to deliver them and their world from that evil. Ruryk weathers a fierce snowstorm on the heights of Borras. Rhianna discovers the secret passage into the enemy fortress. But only the mighty stallion can gain the victory, and in a way no one could have expected. Silver Dasher is a tale about growing up. It is also about being and being with, about becoming, and about leaving the safety of home so we can find ourselves and something greater than ourselves.