Lynch does not lament his lost youth and innocence but in fact during the narrative grows in wisdom and wit whilst evidently developing considerable skills as a professional soldier. But his disdain for the futility of war and his horror at what he witnesses is a continual theme. He often comments on the sadness of the lonely deaths of the young men laid in a land far from home and kin and poignantly quotes the Australian blind poet digger Tom Skeyhill.