Between Duty and Design ― The Architect Soldier Sir J. J. Talbot Hobbs

In 1914, a strong sense of duty determined that the diminutive 50-year-old architect-soldier J.J. Talbot Hobbs would serve in World War I, where he survived the horrors of Gallipoli and the Western Front. Hobbs's powerful organizational skills positioned him as Australia's highest ranking soldier in Europe after the Great War. Hobbs was instrumental in developing the stellar designs of Australian war memorials in both France and Belgium, and his architectural work is impossible to overlook in Perth and in Western Australia. It dominates well-known public spaces, as well as domestic and business streetscapes. Who was J.J. Talbot Hobbs? He was considered to be of such importance that, at the time of his death, a memorial was built in one of the most prominent places in Perth. Between Duty and Design is a meticulous biography of the man - both soldier and architect - highlighting his place as a citizen of Australian national importance.