Centenary projects - Commemorative Crosses

In early 2013 the Australian War Memorial assisted in the distribution of some 2,000 crosses on which Australian school children had written messages of hope and thanks. These crosses have since been placed on the graves of Australian First World War soldiers overseas.

The concept for this project originated in late 2010, when a group of individuals based in Australia and Britain sought to pay their respects to those who had died while on active service by placing small wooden crosses on war graves across the former Western Front battlefields of Belgium and France.

The Australian War Memorial’s Commemorative Crosses project will draw on the commemorative experiences of school children visiting the Memorial by capturing, in the students’ own words, their individual reflections on those Australians who have sacrificed their lives in war and other conflicts.

These reflections will take the form of short messages inscribed on small wooden crosses. The Memorial aims to have 100,000 crosses made over the centenary years, 2014 - 18.

The crosses will be placed on Australian war graves and memorials overseas with the assistance of embassies, high commissions, consulates, and government centenary programs.

Currently, embassies from 39 countries are involved, representing nearly all locations in which Australians have served. Winners of the South Australian Department for Education’s Premier’s Anzac Prize and 2014 Simpson Prize will also be involved in delivering the crosses to their final resting place.

More information:

• Commemorative Crosses
• Photographs from the launch of Commemorative Crosses
• Australia’s experience of war
• Australian War Memorial’s centenary program
• Map and photographs of the crosses on graves and memorials overseas