AustLit

'On Wednesday 16 January 1918, Thomas Gilbert Taylour was officially discharged from the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as medically unfit. He found himself back in Queensland after an absence of more than two years on the Western Front. By the end of 1920, Taylour, 'the Diggers' fighting orator', as he was dubbed, would come to prominence as a public speaker, writer and crusader for social reform. He was applauded for his skills as an orator and debater by both his critics and his supporters. He was highly intelligent, articulate, charismatic, witty and energetic. For his efforts, he would be named in parliament on more than one occasion and be the subject of surveillance by state police and commonwealth military authorities. In short 'Gunner' Taylour became something of a celebrity in the political cauldron that was returned soldier politics in Queensland in the period from 1918 to 1921.' (Publication abstract)