Henri Licht
Henri Licht was born in 1942, Alkmaar, Holland, the second youngest of five boys. He attended Dutch primary school till the third grade. In June 1952, his family emigrated to Australia. The migrant camp at Bonegilla in Victoria was the first stop, followed by a short stay in Tasmania.
The Licht family then moved to Morwell in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, where they stayed for six years. In 1956, Henri was a foundation student of Saint Paul's Marist College in Traralgon and left after third form –year nine – to move to Dandenong, where he attended Dandenong High School until his Matriculation.
After gaining entry to Monash University, he completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Graduate Diploma of Education. He became a teacher and taught widely in Victoria and New South Wales, as well as in the United Kingdom. Later, he added a Masters degree in political philosophy, with a focus on Leo Tolstoy, and became a regular contributor to the Higher School Certificate, or year twelve, English language reference text, Insight. He was also an official examiner for HSC English.
Henri finished his secondary teaching days as Vice-Principal of Lilydale High School. Afterwards, he taught for five years as a sessional lecturer at Victoria University in Melbourne and briefly taught in China during 2001.
He is married and has two sons from a previous marriage. During his free time, he enjoys reading, travelling, gardening, classical music, and playing the harmonica and violin. He is also a keen follower of both soccer and Australian Rules football.
By the Scruff of the Neck - A Suitcase of Memories
by Henri Licht
Told through the eyes of a young boy, ‘By the Scruff of the Neck’ begins its tale in post-WWII Holland of the 1940s and gives a candid and often humorous account of a Catholic childhood and the dynamics of family life. In contrast, the impact of the German occupation of Holland provides an insight into the privations of the time, as well as the subsequent decision to migrate to Australia in 1952.