Ocean Grove singer-songwriter Vin Healy has released a new music video telling the story of a young Anzac just in time for Remembrance Day.
Mr Healy’s new song Soldier Boy – A Final Lament was inspired by Anthony Hill’s poignant novel and play Soldier Boy, which tells the tale of 14-year-old Private James “Jim” Martin, the youngest Anzac to die at Gallipoli in 1915.
Shot at Port Phillip Heads, Point Lonsdale and Beav’s Bar in Little Malop Street, the music video features Mr Healy and multi-instrumentalist Matiss Schubert.
Mr Healy said the story of Pte Martin was a “most tragic” one.
“As a 14-year-old he looked old enough to go to Gallipoli, so he told his mum and dad if they didn’t sign a letter giving him permission to go he would lie about his age and not contact them again…they succumbed and signed the waiver,” he said.
“On the way to Gallipoli his troopship sank. After he was rescued he only spent a limited time on Gallipoli in horrific conditions and eventually he got a form of typhoid…and died very suddenly.
“I sing it through the eyes of Amelia, his mother…and it’s not only her grief, it’s the grief of every person who has lost somebody in war.”
The song comes six months after Mr Healy performed at Villers-Bretonneux in France, which was defended by Australian soldiers in World War I, as part of that community’s Anzac Day commemoration.
“Listening to the story you think, how could it possibly happen?” he said.
“Hopefully in the future we can keep learning from the past.”
Soldier Boy – A Final Lament is available on YouTube.
