Blog category - Collection Highlights

Victoria Cross records and ephemera

03 February 2012 by Craig Berelle. No comments
Collection Highlights,News

Documents supporting the award of the Victoria Cross are now on display at the Reading Room of the Australian War Memorial. The display is arranged to show three themes associated with Australia’s highest award for gallantry. These include official records produced leading to the award of the Victoria Cross; the ceremony of the award, which includes VC memorials and reunions; and items of commemoration, which are often autographed, such as invitations and correspondence between VC recipients, their communities and clubs.

The sovereign traditionally reserves the right to make the award in person, at a ceremony called an investiture. The Governor-General of Australia invested Trp Mark Donaldson with the Victoria Cross for Australia in 2009, and Cpl Benjamin Roberts-Smith in 2011. The programs of their investiture are displayed. The sovereign may honour recipients of the award with memorials and services. On display are tickets and programs of the VC Centenary, held in London in 1954. In 1992 Queen Elizabeth II unveiled a display at Sydney’s Queen Victoria Building. The three living Australian VC recipients at the time autographed the souvenir program.

Australia has a tradition of exhibiting the achievements of its VC recipients. A popular way of doing this is through commemorative issues of everyday products, such envelopes, stamps, and even cigarette cards. Recipients were also given first-class rail travel or memberships of clubs by a grateful nation. Acts of commemoration helped perpetuate the memory of those who died performing the actions for which they received the VC.  On occasions where VC recipients gathered for a journey or reunion, menu cards and theatre programs were often autographed, exchanged or presented to the host.

In the collection: Conflict T-shirts

25 November 2011 by Sue Ducker. No comments
Collection,Collection Highlights,From the collection,News

The Australian War Memorial holds T-shirts from the numerous Peace Keeping missions in which Australians have served. A usually inexpensive and useful type of souvenir, the T-shirts are often humorous and visually creative. They are an example of how soldiers have adapted a civilian item of clothing to a deployment context.

The Memorial is interested in making contact with anyone who contributed to the designs printed on the three T-shirts below.  If you can provide more information on these items please contact sue.ducker@awm.gov.au.

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The Australian Army and farming in the Northern Territory

17 November 2011 by Theresa Cronk. No comments
Collection,Collection Highlights,From the collection,New acquisitions

When we think of fertile faming lands, the Northern Territory is generally not the first place that springs to mind. Yet it was here, during the Second World War, that the Australian Army established the 1 and 2 Farm Company as part of the Australian Army Service Corps.

On 11 September 1940, approval was given by the Minster for Army to acquire land. An area of 107 acres was purchased at Adelaide River. The land was only partly cleared and the farm commenced with a small area of 2 ½ acres in 1940. The Adelaide River Farm Section became the 1 Australian Farm Company. A small garden at Wycliffe Well ushered in the 2 Australian Farm Company in January 1942. Towards the end of 1942, approval was given to establish a further 7 farms at Adelaide River, Hayes Creek, Katherine and Mataranka.

So, why did the Army decide to set up farms in the Northern Territory?

Firstly, these areas were known for deficiency diseases caused by inadequate vitamin intake and there were concerns for the health of troops. During May 1939, the Chief Medical Officer advised that up to 25% of personnel at the Northern Territory garrisons had been on sick parade on one day. Dengue fever was also rife. It was recommended that fresh fruit and vegetables could assist in reducing the occurrence of these diseases.

This revealed the second problem which was the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables. At the time, the policy was to purchase food supplies from civilian contractors. In the Northern Territory, local production of fresh vegetables and fruit could not even sustain the local population. An influx of 40 000 troops and their dietary requirements needed to be met another way.

Thirdly, there were transport problems. Fresh vegetables forwarded from Adelaide had to endure a train journey of 3 or 4 days to Alice Springs. This was followed by 4 days or longer of transportation via trucks for distribution to areas around Darwin. During this time, 50% of the food stuffs were lost through the natural deterioration of food. The remaining 50% was edible but had lost most of its nutritional value and appeal.

 The priority was on the production of salad and leafy vegetables. This included tomatoes, beans, cabbages, lettuce, silver beet, cucumbers, beetroot, marrows and pumpkins. Root vegetables had a lower priority. One problem that also had to be overcome was the way in which to cook certain vegetables that not been seen before. It was only after the practice of boiling sweet potatoes ceased that this vegetable joined the ranks.

The first commanding officer was Captain Henderson who depended on convalescent patients from the nearby camp hospital for labour to plant vegetables. During this time, watering was conducted by channel irrigation from shower overflow and manually with a bucket brigade of volunteers.

The struggle for farm labour and equipment continued under the command of Lieutenant Nielson in March 1941. The tide began to turn with the arrival of Warrant Officer Campbell on 23 May 1941. Campbell obtained additional labour from 2/40 Infantry Battalion who detached platoons for a week or so to clear 30 acres. An irrigation scheme was also established and men from a nearby RAE unit supervised the construction of a 20 000 gallon iron tank.

By November 1941, the war establishment for a Farm Section AASC was approved and the personnel rose to 1 officer and 54 other ranks. Lieutenant Campbell was sent to a training camp in Brisbane to select suitable farmers and these men were sent to Wycliffe Well. Central Australia also had several unit gardens and one of these was located at Elliot. One soldier reported that they had to keep raising the height of the brush fence that they constructed around this garden. The problem was not with local wildlife, but people interested in seeing what was behind the fence. It was hoped that the higher the fence got, the less inclined people would be to climb over and have a look.

During 1944 and 1945, a 16 acre area at Katherine was developed as an experimental farm by army personnel with agriculture specialist qualifications. The work that they did helped establish what varieties of fruit and vegetables were likely to be successful. This work was largely based on recommendations from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research after a visit in September and October 1944. This also called for further training for Major Campbell, Captain Kjar and Lieutenant Scott-Young to study modern methods in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and the vegetable research station in Canberra.

It is unclear what happened to the farms after the end of the war. A report, written shortly after the end of the Second World War, indicates that there were discussions during 1944 and 1945 about the future of the army farms once the Northern Territory returned to civilian control.  Unit war diaries exist for 1 Australian Farming Company until the 6 August 1946 when Captain J C MacDonald moved to 7 Military District. By this time the posted strength for 1 Australian Farm Company had been reduced to 1 officer and 1 other rank.

References:

AWM52 10/26/2 August 1940 to July 1945. 1 Farm Company Summary of Farm Activity

AWM54 337/7/5 [Farms and Gardens - Farming Units:] Inspection report on 1 Australian Farm Coy, Australian Army Service Corps, Northern Territory by Lieutenant N A M Kjar, August 1943

AWM54 337/7/12 Part 1. [Farms and Gardens - Farming Units:] Data relating to Australian Army Service Corps, Farm Coy project and associated farm activities (1939-1945)

AWM54 351/1/3 [Food - General:] History of nutrition in Australian Army. Nutrition and food, requirements and catering. System of dieting. Rationing of hospital patients.

AWM254 [317] Army Farms AASC [Australian Army Service Corps report, photographs and newspaper clippings relating to 1 Australian Farm Company in the Northern Territory, 5 Australian Farm Company in Queensland, 3 Australian Farm Company in New Guinea, and 9 Australian Farm Company in New South Wales]

The Iconic Changi Quilts

16 November 2011 by Sue Ducker. No comments
Collection,Collection Highlights,News

The Memorial is interested in making contact with the relatives or contributors to the famous Changi quilts.  If you can provide more information about the women who made these quilts please contact sue.ducker@awm.gov.au. 

When Singapore fell on 15 February 1942, 400 women and children were interned. The quilts were the idea of Mrs Ethel Mulvaney. Supposedly made for the wounded in Changi hospitals, the quilts were actually meant to relieve boredom, to boost morale, and to pass information to other camps. Three quilts were made, one each for the Red Cross organisations of Britain, Australia and Japan. 

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Art in the Records: the illustrations of Bernie Bragg

14 October 2011 by Sue Ducker. No comments
Collection,Collection Highlights,From the collection,News

The Memorial’s Research Centre holds original First World War AIF War Diaries [AWM4] that are now available to view on our website.  Hidden among the volumes of these records are some wonderful artworks created by the artist Bernie Bragg.

Bernard [Bernie] William Patrick Bragg [Service number 2870] enlisted at 21 years of age on the 16 November 1916 at the Royal Agricultural Show Ground in Sydney.  His service record [held at: National Archives Australia] lists his occupation as “Draughtsman”.  He embarked from Sydney on A19 Africa on 8 November 1916 and arrived at Plymouth in January the following year.  From there he was sent to France to join the 59^th Battalion and later to the 15^th Brigade Headquarters.  Bragg was given the job of regimental draftsman – meaning he was responsible for drawing the maps and diagrams used by the regiment.  At the end of the War he was honoured with a Mention in Despatches.

During Bernie’s time in France with the 15 Infantry Brigade he produced some beautiful War Diary Covers. 

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Close Shaves

03 March 2011 by Andrew Currey. No comments
Collection,Collection Highlights,Family history,From the collection,Personal Stories

“I had a very close shave…”
(Pte C H Lester, 1 October 1917)

As many soldiers will testify, war can be as much about luck as it is about training and equipment. Luck can take many forms, such as being in the right place at the right time, and the closely related not being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The men listed below are a few examples of these places and the sometimes very short distance between them. read on

For Valentine’s Day – The airman who married the general’s daughter

14 February 2011 by Nicholas Schmidt. 4 Comments
ANZACS online,Collection,Collection Highlights,From the collection,News,Personal Stories

Recently, I have been working on the papers of Field Marshal the Lord Birdwood, the First World War British General who commanded the Australian Corps for much of the First World War (including at Gallipoli). Amongst the papers, donated by the Birdwood family in the 1960s, I have found a story I think is suitable for a Valentine’s Day blog entry.

My research is continuing but it was the romantic notion of ‘The airman who married the General’s daughter’ that caught my attention. It is the story of Constance ‘Nancy’ Birdwood, the eldest daughter of Birdwood, who married a Western Australian grazier, Colin Craig. Nancy was an Australian Red Cross nurse while Colin was an airman who flew for the Royal Flying Corp during the First World War.

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The Dinkum Oil

30 September 2010 by Nicholas Schmidt. 1 Comment
ANZACS online,Collection Highlights,From the collection,News,Wartime

This afternoon I will be talking about an interesting collection, held in the Memorial’s Research Centre, on Canberra’s 666 ABC Drive program. (Update: listen to it here)

While serving overseas Australian servicemen and women have often produced publications for their own entertainment and the Memorial collects these in the Troopship and Unit Serials collection. The collection is diverse including publications from the Boer War up to the Peacekeeping in 1980s. However, I think the First World War publications are perhaps the most interesting as they were often less regulated. This means that a lot of the character and humor of the First AIF is able to shine though. My favorite is a trench newspaper which was created during the Gallipoli campaign, The Dinkum Oil .

The Dinkum Oil is an early and unique example of trench newspapers and can be seen as an important way in which the ANZAC ‘legend’ has been transmitted and understood as copies were sent home to families and extracts were published in various newspapers.

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Nothing Like the Real Thing

12 July 2010 by Daniel McGlinchey. 1 Comment
Collection,Collection Highlights

Recently while cataloguing battlefield relics from Fromelles I came across an item I had not seen before, a German ersatz (substitute) sandbag made from paper. A search on the Memorial’s database shows that this was not the only item that used substitute material; there are many items in the collection, including an ersatz felt pickelhaube (spiked helmet) and a packet of ersatz ‘coffee’. As with France and Britain during the First World War, Germany brought in measures to save resources for the war effort, these shortages of material and food affected civilians and military alike.

         

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A collection of First World War fundraising badges

11 June 2010 by Pen Roberts. 2 Comments
Collection,Collection Highlights,From the collection,New acquisitions

 

 “.. give what you can, give a little of your happiness, a little of your well-being and a lot of your soul.”

These words are an English translation of a 1916 French poster for “Journée Nationale des Orphelins” (National Orphans’ Day).

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