Walking the streets of Istanbul – Simpson Prize 2012
20 April 2012 by Stuart Baines.
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Battlefield Tours,Simpson Prize 2012
Today was another fantastic day in Istanbul. Walking the cobbled streets of this ancient city we found amazing mixes of the old and news at each new turn. Our Turkish guide, Ozgur, has impressed me once again this year and managed to find more beauty and more facinating stories in this city than last year.
The sights and sounds today amazed everyone as we walked through the old city on the Golden Horn in what started as a rainy day but turned as we broke for lunch and baked us in glorious sun shine and blue sky’s for the first time since we have arrived. Today we got to see some of the classic, and some of my favourite, sights of the city. Starting with a tour of Topkapi palace, Blue Mosque, the hippodrome and the Basillica Cistern. Each one of these places are so different but all tell a story of life in this city, life in antiquity and life now. I will let Emily tell you about it from her perspective.
Stu
G’day folks,
So we started day three of with a wonderful stroll through Topkapi Palace, I found the palace absolutely astonishing, beautiful grounds all round and an amazing surrounding view!! Topkapi Palace shares with us many of its past stories through interesting exhibitions and rare artifacts!! I found the Palace so interesting and really enjoyed the extra time we were given to explore!
As Stu said earlier the weather wasn’t the most pleasant, infact it was rather freezing! Luckily enough after our absolutely delicious lunch the sun decided to shine and bought with it a little bit of heat! I really appreciated this.
If there is ever a sight to see it would have to be the Blue Mosque! I am all for trying new things and decided it would be great to wear a head scarf. Entering the Mosque I was absolutely speechless it was covered head to toe in the most beautiful mosaics and paintings. It was how ever disappointing but only because my camera simply would not do justice to how beautiful the Mosque was!
After the Blue Mosque we took a stroll down the hippodrome which I found really interesting that so many years ago this exact strip was used as a ‘race track’. As we continued walking I often found myself amazed by the shear beauty of the streets, Istanbul is such a picturesque city and my camera is most defiantly loving it!!
Our final destination for today was the Basillica Cistern. Absolutely amazing if I might say so myself! Who would of thought that a thousand years later in 2012 it would become such a tourist attraction? But I can guarantee it is worth looking!!
I really should be going now as much as I would love to stay and write, Stu is falling asleep here!!
Good bye, fair well, guele guele!!!
Emily
From Europe to Asia – Simpson Prize 2012
19 April 2012 by Stuart Baines.
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Battlefield Tours,Simpson Prize 2012
For our second day Ozgur, our Turkish guide, allowed us a later start to recover from our marathon effort the day before. We had a cruise on the Bosphorus were we had a rather large boat called the Purple Elephant all to ourselves. One of the highlights was passing a palace that was so opulent and expensive it help bring down the Ottoman Empire. We disembarked on the Asian side for lunch in a waterside restaurant. While we were there the weather turned drastically, we later found out it had been a twister, and we were all grateful that we were no longer on the water.
After lunch we headed to the Florence Nightingale museum which is housed in the Selimiye Barracks. Being a military installation, there was no electrical devices or cameras and we had to lock everything up when we arrived. The museum was small, and housed in the rooms orgiginally used by Florence. Afterwards we visited a Commonwealth War Grave where that included graves from the Crimean War. It was interesting that there were not many headstones, but the ones that were there were often for well connected officers, hospital staff, or the wives and children of the Officers. More time for the bazaar this afternoon, and some rain this evening which will hopefully clear up tomorrow.
Heather
Today was a day in which we saw a very large number of places and covered a lot of ground. Our cruise on the Bosphorus was for me probably the highlight of the day, as we saw so many opulent and impressive palaces, mosques and some other historical buildings. My personal favourite was a large fort we passed, which dated back to 1452, and had been constructed by the Ottomans in only a matter of months!! It was particularly interesting to be able to see both the European and Asian sides of Istanbul, and hear Ozgur speak about the differences between the two sides. It felt very surreal and strange being at the crossroads of two continents.
I also really enjoyed our visit to the Istanbul Military Museum and the Florence Nightingale Museum. It was a little unnerving being surrounded by soldiers in uniforms, but both the museums were well worth it. It was interesting to see the Turkish side of the Gallipoli Campaign and the Crimean War, and how they remember and honor their military history.
After two days in Istanbul, I’m really enjoying the city so far. I like Istanbul because it seems to be really active and vibrant, and there always seems to be somewhere new and interesting to see as we drive or walk around. Going around the Grand Bazaar has been really interesting, haggling with the vendors and enjoying the cultural atmosphere.
The trip so far has been absolutely amazing, and I can’t wait for all the other incredible experiences we’re going to enjoy over the next two weeks!!
Sam
Touch down in Turkey
18 April 2012 by Stuart Baines.
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Battlefield Tours,Simpson Prize 2012
It is fantastic to be able to say that we made it here and we’ve all had some sleep. Our trip started with some drama trying to gather everyone together, and poor Taylor’s plane was delayed by two hours, so we all only just made check in by the skin of our teeth. It was a relief to finally be in the air. The flight was long, but there was no rest for anyone, just time for a freshen up, lunch then the start of our first day.
Our activities for the first day included visiting Chora Church Museum, a walking tour of the new city, and then spent a couple of hours in the bazaar. The students undertook some successful bargaining and everyone wore their new purchases to our welcome dinner that night.
Heather
Well, we’ve finally arrived! After a pretty long journey, we were thrilled to be met by Ozgur, our tour guide, at the airport. But, as they say, there’s no rest for the wicked, and we were on the road almost immediately.
Luckily, we’re in Istanbul during the tulip festival, which is a celebration of the origins of that particular flower. Did you know that tulips come from Istanbul? There are flowers absolutely everywhere! We’ve seen gardeners pottering around everywhere tending to the flowers; there are tulips and pansies in every nook and cranny.
So, we started off by seeing the amazing Chora Church. Built in the 5th century, it was originally a Christian church that was modified to be a mosque in the 11th and 12th centuries. The mosaics that were designed by the original builders were plastered over by the Muslims that converted the church, but discovered and unearthed in the 20th century.
Everyone was amazed by the exquisite craftsmanship of the church. The outside was beautiful red brick that moved in spiral shapes around the building, whilst, on the inside, every different type of marble you can imagine was displayed, along with beautiful golden mosaics depicting the life of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ.
After that, none of us were tired anymore! We were happy to go off and explore the Grand Bazaar and do some shopping. The Grand Bazaar is unimaginably big, so we were happy to accompany (or rather, be accompanied by) Stuart and Heather. Luckily, we avoided the advances of some local Turkish men, who asked for my number and even offered Emily some camels! Of course, we realized that was a sales technique, that we might try when we get back to Australia. We did, however, make some great purchases, some of which we displayed at dinner.
Istanbul, thus far, strikes me as an incredible and wonderful place. There are no traffic rules, and there are cats everywhere, but that is part of the adventure, of course! Istanbul is unlike anywhere I have ever been before. Everything, from the buildings to the people, is different and mesmerizing. Sitting in the bus and looking through the window at all the different parts of the city is enough fun in itself!
We’ll keep you posted on all of our adventures but, for now, gule gule!
Phyllie
Stand by for tommorows post.
Memorial prepares to commemorate First World War Centenary
16 April 2012 by Dennis Stockman.
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Exhibitions,News, First World War
Prime Minister Gillard announces funding support for the First World War Galleries The Australian War Memorial will mark the Centenary of the First World War through a vibrant four year cultural program including changing our First World War galleries.
Sign up to e-Memorial for updates and follow how our planning is progressing.
Refurbishment of the First World War galleries at the Australian War Memorial
Prime Minister Gillard announces funding for the First World War galleries
Simpson Prize 2012 – One day to go
15 April 2012 by Stuart Baines.
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Battlefield Tours,Simpson Prize 2012
Once again it is time for commemorative activity to ramp up here at the Australian War Memorial but also at commemorative sites across the globe. Every April we stop and reflect on the service and sacrifice made by Australians in times of war. For a very special group of students, who have completed some excellent historical research and analysis, submitted an essay and been rewarded for their academic achievement, they will receive the unique opportunity to experience ANZAC Day 2012 at ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. The students have already had a trip to Canberra where they were able to visit the AWM and explore the stories of those who served at the peninsula, looked at the relics now on display here and seen some of the behind the scenes collection not normally on display. Now they have the opportunity to walk the same ground that those first ANZACS walked in 1915.
The purpose of this blog is so that you can take this journey with us. The Memorial guides will post but so will the students and you can follow our experiences in Istanbul and on the peninsula itself. If you followed last years blog you will know there are some records to beat, but you will also know what a meaningful and moving experience this will be for all of us. Each day we hope to introduce you to the students and get there perspective on Turkish culture, food, people, the meaning on the battlefields and the commemorative activities around AVZAC day. All going well we can post some photos and show you highlights of the journey.
When the students return we hope that can bring this experience back with them to their school and to their community. We would like them to inspire those they know and those they will know in the future about this important part of our history. With this experience and the knowledge and understanding that it brings, we can be assured that he relevance of this most significant day will live on in their hearts and minds for years to come.
We fly out tomorrow and 24 hours later we will hit the ground running. Check back with us soon.
Stuart, Heather and the Simpson Prize gang
For more information on how your students can enter this competition go to http://simpsonprize.org/
Update on the Lost Diggers photographs
28 March 2012 by Lauren Hewitt.
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Collection Highlights, First World War, Lost Diggers, Photographs, Western Front
Two unknown Australian soldiersThe Memorial has been working hard behind the scenes in preparation for the arrival of the Lost Diggers photograph collection. Kindly donated by Mr Kerry Stokes AC, the collection of glass plate negatives provides a significant insight into the lives of our troops in France while on rest from the front line.
Planned for November 2012, and followed by a national tour, the exhibition ‘Remember Me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt’ will showcase a selection of photographs from the large collection, along with stories and items from some of the men themselves. Whilst the photographs in the collection are largely unidentified the Memorial, and Channel Seven, have been busy researching and working closely with the public to shed light on who some of these men might be, and what their stories might reveal.
Currently, you can see the Lost Diggers photos on the Channel Seven Facebook page or on the Sunday Night program website. In association with the upcoming exhibition the Memorial aims to make the photographs available online where you will be able to comment, share and research your own family stories.
To further help our research we are seeking help from the public in identifying the men in the photographs. If you think you recognise one of the soldiers, please use the form located at the link below to contact us. Be prepared with as much information as you can about your relative. If we need to contact you, we may ask for a comparative portrait.
Stay tuned for more updates as this project continues. The Memorial looks forward to caring for this collection and the many exciting discoveries to be made along the way.
In front of the photographer's house, Vignacourt
An unknown soldier with Robert Thuillier, the photographer's son
An unknown Australian soldier
A despatch riderLockheed Hudson – Upper Turret Milestone
26 March 2012 by Jamie Croker.
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Collection,Conservation
A major milestone was reached late last week with the trial fit of the Boulton Paul upper turret into the Hudson rear fuselage. The installation was carried out to check the fit with the re-constructed support structure, which required only minor adjusting before the turret was bolted into postion. The turret will now be removed to allow fabrication of fuselage skins to be completed, and routing of the empennage flight control cables.
New turret support top deck
Lifting Turret
Lowering the Boulton Paul turret into the fuselage
Boulton Paul turret in position 
Overall shot of the airframe with turret in placePerditta McCarthy: A remarkable lady, with an indomitable spirit and a wonderful sense of humour
15 March 2012 by Robyn Siers.
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News,Nurses: from Zululand to Afghanistan, army nurse, Ditta, McCarthy, Perditta McCarthy
Born in 1916, Perditta Marjorie McCarthy’s life spanned almost a century. “Ditta” McCarthy, of Wagga Wagga, NSW, died peacefully in her sleep last weekend on 10 March after a long battle with failing health. She was 96. The Royal Australian Army Nursing Service has lost its highest ranking officer.
McCarthy trained at the Sydney Hospital, graduating in 1939. She served with the Second AIF as a member of the Australian Army Nursing Service which later became the Royal Australian Army Nursing Service, and then the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps (RAANC). She saw considerable overseas service spanning several conflicts, initially in Papua New Guinea during the Second World War, then with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan, on to Korea, then Malaya, and finally Vietnam.
McCarthy later wrote of her time spent nursing the wounded at the BCOF General Hospital at Kure in Japan during the Korean War in 1950:
The real horrors of the Korean War were “brought home” to me when I was allocated for duty in the Burns Ward of the BRITCOM Hospital … Many were bandaged from head to foot, with only slits for their eyes and mouths, and obviously in great pain, which we attempted to alleviate with what “pain killers” were available at the time. Rarely – if ever – did they complain. Their youthful eyes would “light up” as we bent over them to dress their wounds or to apply medication. Their eyes also revealed their suffering and pain, their stoicism under such traumas had to be witnessed to be believed. As we approached the Burns Ward, to report for duty, the stench from putrefying flesh was overpowering, the memory of which remains with me to this day.
In 1953, McCarthy was posted to the British Commonwealth Communications Zone Medical Unit (BCCZMU) which was located in a suburb on the outskirts of Seoul in Korea. The hospital was in a bombed out, two storey school building, and the nurses lived and worked under Spartan conditions, with no fresh running water and few personal comforts. McCarthy recalled the initial opposition and resentment the women experienced in what had formerly been perceived as a male domain so close to “the front”.
There were some very heated verbal confrontations and even the “pulling of rank”, which is virtually unknown in Nursing Corps. Drastic situations demand drastic action. All we wanted to do was to nurse and care for our wounded. All problems were eventually resolved and we slowly became accepted as an integral part of the “team”.
Despite the lack of facilities and equipment, Matron McCarthy and her nurses determined that their “hospital” would be “the cleanest, most hygienic, germ and bacteria free establishment in Korea. This entailed the continual scrubbing and washing down of floors, walls, beds etc with what soap, detergents and antiseptics we could beg, borrow or steal.”
McCarthy believed that “humour was the element that allowed us to retain our sanity. It came from the staff and from our patients, who despite serious wounds, would continually tell jokes and take “the mickey” out of their fellow diggers and officers.”
With a long and distinguished career as a military nurse, McCarthy held many appointments, her last being as Matron-in-Chief of the RAANC. Before her retirement she was promoted to brigadier, the only nursing officer to reach such a rank. She was awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross in 1954 and the Royal Red Cross in 1972 for her dedication and service to nursing.
Never one to remain idle for long, McCarthy kept busy for many years in her retirement working as a volunteer at the Army Museum in Victoria Barracks, Sydney. She was also responsible for the research and writing of several biographies of colleagues and predecessors from the Army nursing fraternity.
Of the late Brigadier Perditta McCarthy it can genuinely be said that “she served the Army with distinction.”
More information
Our current exhibition is Nurses: from Zululand to Afghanistan
Memorial art and objects a source of inspiration for artist Carla Wherby
06 March 2012 by Alexandra Wiber.
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News
In January, Sydney artist Carla Wherby visited the Australian War Memorial to explore the collection. Wherby was awarded an Accessible Arts’ AART.BOXX scholarship, funded by Arts NSW in 2011. She is using the scholarship to attend the National Art School in Sydney and to visit institutions such as the Australian War Memorial. This new scholarship is designed to ‘improve access to arts and cultural funding for artists with disability.’ Wherby viewed collection items from the Art Section and the Military, Heraldy and Technology Section. The experience of seeing these collection items had a powerful affect on her. “When I arrived at the AWM I became very emotional and felt deep respect and sadness for all the men and women whose lives were forever changed and sometimes lost by serving in the armed forces” she said.
Through her art, Wherby seeks to explore “the psychological effects of war on those who served their country.” She said that “by putting certain images together that excite me, I hope [to] provoke people to think about certain things going on in the world that they might normally ignore or avoid.” Wherby’s bright collages are manipulated, altering their meaning and creating new and original narratives. Her series Women and War, celebrates women’s contributions to wars and peacekeeping operations throughout history. Wherby was particularly interested in art and items related to the Australian Women’s Land Army including recruitment posters, uniforms and ephemera. She ‘was amazed to see the work of Jon Cattapan, eX de Medici and Wendy Sharpe in person.’
Carla hopes that her scholarship, and visit to the Memorial will result in a large body of artwork inspired by Australia’s military history, past and present. “I came away so inspired and ready to create important, stimulating work” she said.
Thank you to Curator, Diane Rutherford, for helping facilitate Carla Wherby’s visit.
Alexandra Wiber, Assistant Curator, Art
Historians and Hollywood: the best war movies
21 February 2012 by Emma Campbell.
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News
This Sunday night, the stars of cinema will come together in Hollywood to celebrate the year’s best films at the 84th Academy Awards. Among the nine movies vying for best picture is Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, about a young Englishman who enlists to serve in the First World War after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry.
Whether or not War Horse wins, it’s no surprise that a war film has made the best picture list. The Academy’s very first best picture was a war film – Wings, in 1927–28 – and in its third year of issuing awards All Quiet on the Western Front (1929–30) took the gong. Other war films to have won best picture include The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Patton (1970), Platoon (1986) and, most recently, The Hurt Locker in 2009.
So when war historians look to the cinema for a fresh interpretation of a conflict – or just for good old-fashioned entertainment – they have a glut of films to choose from. The action, glory and tragedy of war make it a popular choice for filmmakers the world over, and thousands of movies on the topic have been made since the birth of cinema in 1895.
Defining a war film is not simple: it generally features a battle at sea, on land or in the air, but it is not confined to depicting combat alone. War films may focus on other aspects of war, such as covert operations, prisoners of war or the civilian experience. Action and drama are typically involved, but a war movie may be a comedy or romance. War films are used as propaganda, to mobilise forces, encourage patriotism or remind a nation of its power and glory. But they are also often anti-war films, concentrating on suffering and horror and designed to make a political or ideological statement about the futility of the endeavour.
Historians at the Australian War Memorial are as enamoured of war films as the broader movie-going public, but they view them through a different lens. They do not expect fictional war films to broaden their knowledge of war, but they do expect filmmakers to get the facts right.
“Historical accuracy is important, even within a fictional retelling of an event,” says Second World War historian Lachlan Grant. “Memory is often shaped by popular mediums such as literature, film, television, and even computer games in more recent times. There are many historical myths that have been fuelled or are reinforced by popular fictional works that are mistakenly accepted as historical fact.”
First World War expert Aaron Pegram agrees. “As historians, we have to turn to the real, tangential fragments of the past kept in archives, museums and from our veterans to get a real understanding of what the nature of conflict was like. War films can provide a frame of reference which we can use to imagine what war might have been like. Everything from the badges to buttons, the sights and sounds has to be as close to reality as possible. There’s nothing more irritating than a misrepresentation of the past.”
Action should be intense. To this end, our historians’ list of favourite war films includes many from the 1950s and 1960s, a period when combat-heavy films were all the rage: The Dam Busters, The Guns of Navarone and Battle of Britain are just some examples. More recent action-based war films that make the list are Black Hawk Down, The Hurt Locker, Master and Commander and Saving Private Ryan – the first 30 minutes, anyway.
“It’s action and drama that I want to watch,” says Pacific war specialist Karl James. “I grew up watching John Wayne movies and I love the nostalgia and sentimentality of 1940s British war films.”
However, there is definitely a need for a meaningful, even romantic, story to propel a war film – just don’t get too soppy.
“As a historian, I’m looking for a movie that evokes something genuine about the experience and events of war without false sentimentality,” says Jean Bou, an authority on the Australian Light Horse. “Regardless of whether the sentimentality arises from an absurd romance, from shallow characters or from blatant nationalism, or whatever, it is the big killer, in my opinion.”
While American and British films dominate our historians’ list of favourite war flicks, films made by other nations are considered equally – if not more—important.
“The Germans make great war movies,” says Pegram. “Rarely do we see war from the other side of the hill; most are made from the Allies’ perspective.” Among his favourites are Downfall, which tells of Adolf Hitler’s final days in his Berlin bunker, and is based on a memoir by his last private secretary, Traudl Junge; and Stalingrad, a depiction of the brutal Russian battle as seen through the eyes of a German officer and his battalion.
It may have been made by an American, but Letters from Iwo Jima is important for telling the Japanese perspective of war, says Grant. Clint Eastwood’s Second World War film “re-humanises for Western audiences the Japanese experience of the war against the grain of often dehumanising depictions that have persisted since 1945. It therefore highlights the point that Japanese militarism, as an ideology, rather than the Japanese as a people, was the real enemy in this bitter conflict.”
Vietnam war and Gallipoli expert Ashley Ekins favours French films. “La grande illusion by Jean Renoir ranks as one of the greatest war/anti-war films of all time; and A Very Long Engagement is a brilliant re-creation of post–First World War France.” Peter Weir’s Gallipoli, starring Mel Gibson, also makes his list. “Despite its historical inaccuracies, it is an enduring evocation of period and place.”
Despite a profusion of war films, there is room for more – particularly about Australians at war.
“Popular movies like The Lighthorsemen and Gallipoli have helped place the ‘sideshow’ campaigns in recent popular memory, but it’s the Western Front – the main theatre of the First World War – where Australian troops fought and suffered the most,” Pegram says. “It’s also where they performed their greatest achievements. I thoroughly enjoyed the recent Beneath Hill 60, which I think is an extraordinary story [about Australian tunnellers on the Western Front], but I think it’s time for a movie about the ‘ordinary’ soldier’s experience, and one much more representative of an Australian infantryman’s war.”
James would like to see a film about one of the final campaigns the Australians fought on Bougainville in 1945.
“The story has everything; heroes and villains, pitched battles and irregular warfare, mutinies, black market profiteers, three weddings – even cannibalism,” he says. A box-office hit, for sure.
Memorial historians’ best ever war movies (in no particular order)
The Dam Busters (1955)
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Das Boot (The Boat) (1981)
Der Untergang (Downfall) (2004)
The Eagle Has Landed (1976)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Henry V (1989)
Ice Cold in Alex (1958)
In Which We Serve (1942)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Patton (1970)
Westfront 1918 (1930)
Stalingrad (1993)
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Battle of Britain (1969)
The Longest Day (1962)
The Guns of Navarone (1961)
La grande illusion (Grand Illusion) (1937)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
La vie et rien d’autre (Life and Nothing But) (1989)
Un long dimanche de fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement) (2004)
Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas) (2005)
Gallipoli (1981)
Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence (1983)
The Dawn Patrol (1930)
Wings (1927)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Quiet American (2002)
Cross of Iron (1977)
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 and 1979)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Glory (1989)
Master and Commander (2003)
Beneath Hill 60 (2010)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
TV Series or Mini-Series
Band of Brothers (2001)
Generation Kill (2008)
