EVEN at 101 years old, local war veteran John (Jack) Braidie doesn't know why people are interested in hearing his story.

"I believe I am the most ordinary bloke you’ll meet – I don’t know what all the fuss is about," he said.

But Mr Braidie is just one of 74 people from the region whose stories have been preserved in writing by the Mallee Living Histories project in a series of five books...