'As far as the Queensland Studies Centre is concerned, this session follows on from a conference that we put on in Townsville at the beginning· of July this year at James Cook University as part of the Australia Remembers program. When John Collins asked if the Centre would be interested in organising a session of this kind on a similar topic, I jumped at the chance. It seemed like a great opportunity to explore a literature - and more broadly a cultural milieu, that of the Second World War, particularly in Brisbane - which I think we have forgotten about rather too soon, and perhaps have never found out about it in enough detail.' (Preamble)