Summary Australia's Secret Army: The Story of the Coastwatchers With Michael Veitch Established after World War I by the Royal Australian Navy, the Coast Watchers were a loose organisation of several hundred European settlers, missionaries, patrol officers and planters living in British and Australian Pacific Island territories whose job it was to observe and report on the enemy. They were mostly all unpaid volunteers whose job it was simply to observe and report on foreign shipping and aeroplane movements. It was never envisaged that the Coast Watchers would do any fighting, nor operate inside enemy-occupied territory. But when World War II came to the Pacific, that is exactly what they ended up doing, becoming, in effect, Australia's secret army. Fully cognisant of their fate should they be caught, they nonetheless battled not just the enemy, but constant exhaustion, tropical disease, and the ever-present spectre of capture, torture and death. Without the Coast Watchers and the crucial intelligence they provided, key moments in the war could have turned out very differently. This is the story of these unsung heroes who risked their lives - and sometimes lost them - in the service of their country. From Melbourne, Australian Michael Veitch is well known as an author, actor, TV comedian and radio presenter. In the 1980s he wrote and performed in acclaimed comedy shows such as The D-Generation, Fast Forward and Full Frontal. From 2006 to 2009, Veitch presented ABC Television's flagship arts magazine program, Sunday Arts. He is also a prolific and highly regarded military history and aviation author. His books include the critically acclaimed accounts of Australian airmen in WWII, 44 Days, Heroes of the Skies, Fly, Flak, Barney Greatrex and Turning Point and The Battle of the Bismarck Sea.

• War
• Documentary
• History
• Talk Show