For many years, one publication has stood above all others as the most comprehensive and authoritative account of the Dutch wartime presence in Australia during the Second World War: Dr Jack Ford’s Allies in a Bind – Australia and the Netherlands East Indies in the Second World War.
The Dutch Australian Cultural Centre (DACC) is pleased to announce that work has now begun on a project to republish this important historical study and introduce it to a new generation of readers in both Australia and the Netherlands.
The story behind this project is one of unfinished work, changing historical perspectives and, ultimately, the continuation of a remarkable legacy.
Originally based on doctoral research undertaken by Dr Jack Ford in the late 1980s, Allies in a Bind represented decades of specialised historical investigation into the Dutch wartime presence in Australia. The work was eventually published in 1997 by the Queensland branch of the Netherlands Ex-Servicemen and Women’s Association (NESWA).
While highly regarded by specialists, the book essentially moved directly from thesis to publication with little editorial adaptation for a broader audience. As a result, its rich scholarship reached only a relatively limited readership within the Dutch community and among military historians.
Yet despite the quality and significance of the work, the timing of its original publication may not have been ideal. During the late 1980s and 1990s, broader public interest in Dutch wartime history in Australia remained limited. Outside the Dutch community and specialist military circles, the story received relatively little attention.
Today that situation has changed.
Across both Australia and the Netherlands there is growing interest in understanding shared wartime histories and rediscovering stories that for many years remained on the margins of mainstream history. Questions surrounding wartime exile, Allied cooperation, colonial legacies and the role of the Netherlands East Indies continue to attract renewed attention.
Jack’s work remains particularly significant because it moved beyond a narrow military history. It examined the wider political, diplomatic and social relationship that developed between Australia and the Netherlands during the war years.
His research showed that Australia’s wartime involvement with the Netherlands East Indies extended far beyond occasional military cooperation. Dutch warships, merchant vessels, aircraft and military units made substantial contributions to Australia’s defence and to Allied operations throughout the Pacific theatre. Yet these contributions often remained largely overlooked within Australian wartime history.
At the same time, Jack did not shy away from examining tensions and misunderstandings between wartime allies. He carefully documented how political disagreements, financial disputes and conflicting post-war ambitions gradually strained Dutch–Australian relations. His work revealed a far more complex relationship than the traditional image of wartime Allied unity.
Why now?
The timing for this republication could hardly be better.
Over recent years there has been growing international interest in Brisbane’s wartime role and in the broader shared history linking Australia, the Netherlands and Indonesia during the Second World War.
The international symposium organised by the Camp Columbia Heritage Association (CCHA) in Brisbane in 2025 attracted researchers, institutions and community organisations from Australia, the Netherlands and beyond. Increasingly, historians are recognising that Brisbane played a far larger role in Allied wartime cooperation than has traditionally been acknowledged.
Jack Ford had been closely involved with CCHA from its establishment in 2022. His research quickly became one of the key foundations in uncovering the Dutch dimensions of Camp Columbia and the wider story of the Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile in Australia.
From early discussions within CCHA and DACC, one conclusion quickly emerged: Allies in a Bind deserved a new life.
Importantly, Jack himself strongly supported that idea.
Even after publication his research never stopped. Over the years he continued revising and updating his work and produced an expanded but unpublished revised edition in 2022 that incorporated corrections and additional material.
An important breakthrough came when Echo Books in Melbourne offered to republish the work. Discussions quickly made clear that this should become more than simply a reprint.
The aim is now to create a genuine new edition—one that remains faithful to Jack’s scholarship while making it more accessible to contemporary readers.
The new edition will incorporate additional text identified by Jack in later years, previously unpublished material, expanded illustrations and photographs, and a new foreword written by his daughter Leela Ford.
Associate Professor Geoff Ginn from the University of Queensland—who is leading new student research initiatives linked to Camp Columbia—helped identify a suitable historian to assist with this project.
Through Geoff, the project connected with Dr Liam Barnsdale, a Brisbane-based historian whose research focuses on the militarisation of civilian culture during the Second World War.
Liam completed his PhD at the University of Queensland in 2024. His thesis, Boys into soldiers?: The politics and practicalities of secondary school cadet training in Australia and New Zealand, 1939–1945, examined the diverse motivations and experiences surrounding wartime cadet training across both countries.
His expertise and fresh perspective make him well placed to help guide Allies in a Bind towards a broader readership while preserving the integrity of Jack’s original scholarship.
Equally important has been the support of Jack Ford’s family.
Discussions with Jack’s widow Brenda and daughter Leela have been overwhelmingly positive. They have warmly embraced the project and generously made files and archival material available to assist in bringing the new edition to fruition.
There is also a deeply personal dimension to this story.
Only two days before Jack passed away in June 2025, I was able to tell him that a publisher had been found and that plans to bring his book back into print were moving ahead.
He was delighted.
There is comfort in knowing that Jack was aware that his life’s work would continue.
This project therefore represents far more than the republication of an important historical book.
It is the continuation of a legacy.
Nearly three decades after its original publication, Allies in a Bind may finally reach the broader audience it always deserved.
Its time may finally have arrived.
Paul Budde – May 2026
See also: Dr. Jack Ford Allies in a Bind – Australia and the Netherlands East Indies in the Second World War
