Overview

Andrew Bagshaw was many things - genius-level geneticist, keen cricketer and sailor, private pilot, much-loved son, brother and uncle, as well as a hugely brave and principled idealist who risked everything to travel from Christchurch to Ukraine to work as a volunteer aid worker. After seeing the distressing coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine unfold on television, Andrew knew he had to do something. He booked a ticket to Poland in April 2022 and by July he was in eastern Ukraine, evacuating citizens from dangerous frontline cities like Bakhmut and Soledar. He moved hundreds of people to safety while gaining the respect of an international team of volunteers from Ukraine, Russia, the UK, the US, Australia, Poland and Canada. Andrew did all this with minimal resources - driving in an old red van, and making ends meet by doing freelance scientific work when he could. On 6 January 2023, Andrew and fellow aid worker Chris Parry were on a mission in Soledar, trying to rescue an elderly woman, when they were caught in a Russian attack. They were reported missing the following day. Their deaths were confirmed two weeks later. In The Quiet Hero, with the help of Andrew's family, colleagues and other workers on the ground in Ukraine, award-winning journalist Philip Matthews reveals for the first time Andrew's remarkable work in Ukraine, and celebrates the modest, compassionate and, above all, determined man that he was.

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9781991006547

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Reviews

Matthew's lucid, considered, highly readable account is more than a portrait of a man widely described as modest, reserved, compassionate, reliable, committed and heroic. The Quiet Hero also gives the reader insight into the daily terror Ukraine's citizens are subject to, the stoic character of the country's people and the' incredible disruption involved in being displaced.' Mark Peters, Gisborne Herald Reading about the work volunteers do in Ukraine makes you realise that the ones who go and do that must be very special people indeed. Philip Matthews is a terrific Christchurch based writer and this is done with real insight and compassion. Joan's Picks. Newstalk ZB

Author Information

Philip Matthews is a senior Stuff journalist and critic for Newsroom who has written The Quiet Hero with the blessing of Andrew's parents, Phil and Dame Sue Bagshaw. He is a long-form feature writer and won Reviewer of the Year at the 2022 Voyager Media Awards.

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