In War & In Peace

This story is about the wartime experiences

that touched the lives of just one Australian family.

Firstly, we meet the extended family who played many

roles in the wartime experiences of the Clifton family.

With the likelihood of war coming to Australia there was

a growing feeling of apprehension. The Japanese were moving fast and

unrestrained throughout Asia and were close to invasion.

Three chapters reveal how this affected the family: Dad’s War recreates

Jack Clifton’s encounters with the war in the tropics as a RAAF electrician,

Mum’s War introduces Joan Clifton, at home, looking after her two children

and grappling with wartime shortages, Kid’s War recounts childhood

memories of the war and its effect on the children.

Finally, the Homecoming, that should have been jubilant but was marred

by ill-health, intolerance and discomfort. In the last chapter, Peacetime,

some accord was reached.