John Bede Cusack was born on 22 February 1908 in West Wyalong, a country town in New South Wales. John finished his education at Christian Brothers, Waverley, in the late 1920s. In 1933 John saw an advertisement for sales work at Electrolux. He got the job.
One day in 1939, when John was in Grafton establishing a couple of sales agents, he met two air force officers on a war recruiting campaign for the Royal Australian Air Forde (RAAF). John had given some thought to joining up, but couldn't see any urgency. However, during a rather riotous night of drinking with the air force men, John and five others signed up. Two months later, when the call-up papers hadn't come through, he went down to the RAAF headquarters at Rushcutters Bay in Sydney. Strangely, they had no record of his enlistment. The clerk simply asked him if he wanted to join up, and the answer was 'yes'. He was accepted on the spot.
After training in Australia, being 'volunteered' as an Air Gunner and travelling to England, he started flying in March 1942. His wartime activities from then on are, of course, the inspiration for They Hosed Them Out. After many operations over Europe he had his last flight on 1 September 1944.
John arrived back in Sydney in December 1944.
Robert Brokenmouth is a war historian who has edited books published by Wakefield Press, including They Hosed Them Out and 101 Nights.
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'A shocking, authentic little masterpiece of men at war.' - Australian Book Review
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'One of three outstanding books about the air war that have been written by Australians.' - Ross Campbell, Daily Telegraph
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'In language and content this book of an Australian airgunner's war is strong meat. But it bears on every page the stamp of authenticity and can be thoroughly recommended for the graphic, unblinkered insights it gives into the author's three years' experience in RAF bombers … this vivid, often brutal book … is vastly entertaining, with many humorous passages - and some sultry ones, too, on the amatory side of life in wartime England.' - Leslie Jillett, Sydney Morning Herald
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'The author is a natural writer with a flair for belly-jolting realism … He is a real image Aussie, tough, ribald, amused by discipline, a colossal womaniser and a mighty man for the grog and all this comes over hot and salty … It brings the almost ignored sacrifice of the airgunners before the reading public with a savage poignancy.' - Derek Whitelock
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'… it proves vividly what I think it sets out to prove - that war is degradation. That this is achieved not from the viewpoint of a pacifist but from the viewpoint of a man who despised the philosophy of his enemy, adds to its stature.' - Ivan Southall
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'A riveting read. … a well-written account of wartime exploits which many in Australia know little about.' - Michael Roser, The Chronicle, Toowoomba
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'This book, in its passion, interest and truthfulness, stands at least, alongside Come in Spinner on the very top shelf. … An absorbing account of one man's European air war. … Immensely personal, with nothing held back.' - Michael McKernan, Canberra Times
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'A well-written account of wartime exploits which many in Australia know little about … A riveting read.' - Michael Roser, Sunshine Coast Daily
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'A sobering story that reminded me how much we owe to the airmen of WW2.' - Lisa Hill, ANZ LitLovers
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'This book really is a treasure … a very good adventure story … bold and fearless.' - Ian Lipke, M/C Reviews
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'This is an outstanding book about the air war and even if you are not that interested in Australia's military history, you will find this powerful story engaging. There's adventure, empathy, humour, emotion, fear and plenty of adrenalin rushes.' - Michelle Thompson, ReadPlus