Gadfly Books, 2009

This narrative centres on the lives of William Smith's family from about 1890 until the 1970s. The book focuses on the extraordinary story of his father, Jack Smith, a promising footballer before WW1, who was badly wounded in France in 1918. It tells of his struggle to overcome his disability through the Depression, the Second World War and its aftermath. Footballers Don't Cry is a passionate account of the inexhaustable heroism shown by a generation of working-class people. The author emigrated to New Zelaand in 1962...