If you think you can do any better come up and bloody try

On my bookshelf is The Australians by historian John Hirst. It is a short book that explores the Australian national character based on what insiders and outsiders have said about Australians since 1770. 

The back cover quote, however, is why I got the book and it still makes me smile. Tad disappointed, reading Major-General Allen did not send his reply. Do you like it?

US GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, on the Australians fighting on the Kokoda Track, 1942- 'Operations reports show that progress on the trail is NOT repeat NOT satisfactory.'
To which MAJOR-GENERAL A.S. ALLEN drafted this reply- 'If you think you can do any better come up and bloody try.
— David Horner (Crisis of Command, 1978) cited by John Hirst, The Australians

Acknowledgement: The portrait of Major-General Allen above comes from the Australian War Memorial. It was painted by Australian war artist, William Dargie in 1942 and exhibited in the Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in 1943 Full details here.

Please share. Let’s get the past and present talking.