Hi
There is a book that I've read (tissues needed...) about Australia's "boy soldiers". The title is "The Lost Boys" and is clearly a reference to Peter Pan.
I forget now what the youngest age quoted is but I think that 13 seems to come to mind, but there is also the example of two boys who stowed away on board a troopship being carried aboard wrapped up in some blankets.
They were aged 11 and 12 if memory serves me correctly. They were "discovered" and returned to Australia but this still serves to underscore the extent to which the desire for adventure gripped the population at the time.
A member may be able to correct me on some of the above which is just my recall of this work.
They also quote the enlistment of boys as buglers as a means of circumventing the age normally accepted.
An interesting, well-written account in my opinion.
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