First World War diary record series passes 400,000 images.
29 June 2009 by Sue Ducker.
5 Comments
Aircraft 1914 - 1918,Collection,News
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.
Valour
09 June 2009 by Peter Burness.
1 Comment
Opinion, views and commentary, bravery, valour
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
The girl on the badge
03 June 2009 by Paul Taylor.
9 Comments
Collection,Family history,From the collection,New acquisitions,Personal Stories
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. REL40008Archives sharing content in the digital age
29 May 2009 by Robyn Van Dyk.
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Collection,Collection Highlights,News
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-archiefLudwig Marx – A unique Australian’s story
19 May 2009 by Mike Kelly.
4 Comments
Collection,Family history,From the collection,Personal Stories
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) Final Simpson Prize post
18 May 2009 by Andrew Gray.
5 Comments
Battlefield Tours,News, Simpson Prize 2009
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.
Students from around Australia
28 April 2009 by Andrew Gray.
7 Comments
Battlefield Tours, Simpson Prize
Simpson Prize students (left to right) Nic, Eleanor, Meg, Madeleine, Erin, Lauren, Varun and Johanna at the 57 Regiment MemorialIt’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.
Recovery and return
28 April 2009 by Andrew Gray.
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Battlefield Tours, Simpson Prize
Varun and Onder, our bus driver, laying a wreath at the Turkish 57th Regiment MemorialThe return to the hotel after our big Anzac morning was a chance to relax, catch up on sleep and do whatever we felt like. As it was a lovely warm day, Maddy and Lauren braved the waters for another swim, others walked and talked on the beach, Varun learnt card games – Pisti and Kapti Kacti – from our bus driver, while the more senior members of the group snoozed.
The day after Anzac Day was farewell to the Kum Hotel and back to Istanbul. We stopped at the Turkish 57th Regiment to lay a wreath, with Varun and our bus driver doing the honours. Our wreath, in Turkish, read “The epic story of heroism and friendship started here”. A very subdued bus trip back with some nodding off and others lost in their thoughts had us back in Istanbul, visiting Haggia Soffia (Ayasofya) before heading to the hotel.
Anzac Day
26 April 2009 by Andrew Gray.
11 Comments
Battlefield Tours, Gallipoli, Simpson Prize
View of Dawn Service from our seatsWell, by the look of all the comments we don’t have to tell you what we’ve been up to, as you’ve seen us in action on TV. Before Lone Pine, though, we had of course been at the Dawn Service at North Beach. We got up after midnight, dressed warmly (some with every layer they possibly could) and headed off to the site. It was amazing to see the place full of people in sleeping bags and in the stands. Thanks to Dept of Veterans Affairs we got some great seats, just behind the NSW Premier’s group of students. It was at the front of the stands, close to the water so we had a great view of the commemorative site and sea with lights shooting out across it.
While it was cold waiting for dawn, Andrew assured us we were lucky that there was no cold wind like last year. There was an interpretive program that ran on the big screens either side of the site that included interviews with people who had travelled to Gallipoli for the services and a presentation of soldiers names and details of a few Australian and New Zealand soldiers killed in the campaign – very moving.
The frontline and the coast
25 April 2009 by Andrew Gray.
7 Comments
Battlefield Tours, Gallipoli, Simpson Prize
Simpson Prize group rugged up during the trip up the Anzac coastlineToday we braved the elements and walked the frontline at Anzac from Lone Pine to Walkers Ridge. Lone Pine is the site for the main Australian service on Anzac Day so it’s full of action with seating stands, a/v equipment, catafalque party rehearsals and musicians trying to warm up. Many of the soldiers we were to present had no known grave, so we found their names on the memorial wall and did rubbings to add to our photos and poppies, to present in other areas. read on
