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The Research Centre holds a fascinating and unusual collection of 68 aerial photographs of Gallipoli in 1915. The majority of the collection consists of 48 numbered aerial photographs taken over Anzac and South Suvla by the British Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) in October and November 1915 at a time when aerial photography was very much in its infancy and highly experimental.

Much of the early aerial photography at Gallipoli was conducted by Flight Lieutenant C. H. Butler of No. 3, RNAS. From April to June in 1915, when he was badly wounded, Butler would personally take over 700 photographs of fortifications and gun positions before the landing at Gallipoli.

At the war’s end It was soon discovered by the Memorial that these aerial photos were not suitable ‘for permanent record purposes’. In the field, early issue of the photographs was more important than permanency and many of the prints were insufficiently washed and liable to fade, so it was arranged for permanent prints to be prepared (AWM16 5). Despite being ‘Treated for Permanency’ by the Memorial in the 1930s, as suggested by the Royal Photographic Society, these Gallipoli aerial photographs have since faded and yellowed to the point where the images were virtually unusable.

With the help of our multimedia section, a project was undertaken to photographically restore these images to their former glory.

Often when old prints have faded they will become a yellow or brown colour. By using a blue filter and an increased exposure to make a new negative for each image we were able to restore contrast and density levels.

Even when very little detail is seen by the naked eye in the original print, a blue filter (Kodak Wratten filter number 47B) can pick up much of the unseen information. The blue filter works by reducing the yellow content, and teamed with increased exposure the original detail (before fading) is able to be restored and seen in the new negative and print. It can then be further enhanced using Photoshop if required.

This process reminds us of the importance of proven traditional photographic techniques, especially because a lot of what we are working with is quite old and sometimes unstable.

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Shrapnel from an American ranging shell, Colditz Castle 1945. REL38251

This 8 cm piece of shrapnel is a souvenir from the liberation of the infamous prisoner of war camp, Oflag IVC - Colditz Castle. It was collected by an Australian soldier, Lieutenant Jack Millett. Millett was an ‘incorrigible’, one of the prisoners held by the Germans at Colditz for making repeated escape attempts from other camps. In 1942, Millett was caught trying to dig a tunnel out of Oflag VIB at Warburg with another prisoner. In 1943, he took part in a mass escape from Oflag VIIB at Eichstatt. Millett was on the run for five days before he was finally captured by two Hitler Youths with large dogs. After his recapture, he served 14 days detention as punishment and was then sent to Colditz Castle, where he remained until April 1945.

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Phoebe Chapple (1879-1967) Image courtesy of the State Library of South Australia. B 25677/34

Phoebe Chapple was always going to be someone special. She grew up in a family of high achievers. Apart from her father, Frederic Chapple, who was headmaster at Prince Alfred College Adelaide, five of her seven siblings held university degrees: Alfred a lecturer in engineering at St John’s University Cambridge; Ernest, another Cambridge graduate at Jesus University and president of the Fresher Debating Society before taking up a position in Rangoon, Burma; Harold a surgeon at Guy’s Hospital in London; Marian an arts graduate from the University of Adelaide; and Fred, another doctor. However, Phoebe stood apart even in such accomplished company.

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The digitisation of the whole series of Australian Imperial Force (AIF) war diaries from the First World War, (Official Records series AWM4), recently passed the 400,000 image mark.   Included in the 400,000 images are all the available diaries for the Australian Flying Corps, (AFC) .  Digitised versions of the diaries are being regularly uploaded to the Memorial’s website as they are completed. 

The AIF war diaries are an invaluable resource for anyone researching a particular unit and sometimes contain unexpected windows into the daily experience of war.  A revealing example of this is contained in the appendices to the AFC diaries titled ‘Combats in the Air’.  These documents detail personal accounts of aerial combat recorded in the immediate aftermath by the participants.

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 Valour is a special human quality, usually demonstrated in the performance of extraordinary and unselfish deeds in the face of great peril. It is represented in a variety of words: bravery, boldness, courage, gallantry, and heroism. It can be observed in both peace and war. However, valour is particularly evident in wartime, where the risk to one’s life in the service of others is more likely to be observed.

 The story is told that when Queen Victoria visited wounded soldiers from the Crimea she was so moved by accounts of great courage that she instituted the Victoria Cross. Embossed on this highest award for bravery are the words “for valour”. Inspiration at all levels can be derived from tales of great courage. read on

 A donation came to my desk in the days following Anzac Day that caught my attention.  It was a maroon and white identification badge that featured the image of a young girl, her name, an I.D. number and the words, ‘C.S.I.R. Radiophysics Division’

Fortunately the depositor of the badge provided details of the original owner and I was soon speaking to Valerie Briggs who at 79 years of age still possessed all of the enthusiasm and intelligence that I saw in the eyes of the girl on the badge.

Valerie Briggs' identification badge. REL40008

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The Netherland’s national archives, Nationaal Archief, has recently completed a research project: Afscheid van Indië (Separation from Indonesia), which includes the web publishing of over 175,000 pages of digitised records. The site tells the story of the separation of the Netherlands from its former colony of Indonesia during the 1940s. This turbulent decade in the history of the Netherlands is told through the use of archival material sourced from three continents including the collections of the Australian War Memorial.

nationaal-archief

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As an assistant curator at the Australian War Memorial, I deal with many personal stories of Australians and other nations during war time. One story has really inspired me lately, that of Ludwig Marx. I had an email from his granddaughter recently about his service medals we hold in the collection. As I read the catalogue records, the brief description “served German Army in the First World War, Imprisoned at Dachau” grabbed me. I wanted to know more about Ludwig, not only to assist me in re-cataloguing his medal group, but to know more about his life and what led him from Germany to Australia. My research, with the assistance of Ludwig’s granddaughter, has uncovered the story of his incredible journey to Australia.

Ludwig Marx was born on 19 January 1892 at Krefeld, near Dusseldorf in Germany. As a young man, he worked in his father’s real estate and mortgage broking business. He learned how the property market worked and assisted his father in making the business successful.

Ludwig Marx, Tilsit, Russia c1916 (photograph courtesy of Lindy Stockwell, Geoff and Warwick Marx)

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The Simpson Prize students have now been back in Oz for just over two weeks  – enough time to re-adjust and reflect on our experiences.   Here are some thoughts from most of the gang.  This is the final blog entry, so thanks to those who have followed the experiences and for any year 9 or 10 students interested in applying to this year’s competition, you can see what sort of experience the winners have on their trip.

Istiklal St tram

  

Istanbul evening

Megan Prouatt

After eleven days of sharing an experience, and getting to know such an awesome and unique bunch of people as the ones that attended the Simpson Prize Trip 2009, it’s sad being separated by our different states.  On top of that, I’m missing our after dinner intense games of spoons and the other card games Andrew taught us, although most of those surpassed my intelligence anyway.

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Simpson Prize students (left to right) Nic, Eleanor, Meg, Madeleine, Erin, Lauren, Varun and Johanna at the 57 Regiment Memorial

It’s always interesting and entertaining for me to discover the character of the young Aussies who come on the Simpson Prize trip.  Here’s a rough sketch of each one.

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