Love touches us all. During times of conflict it has played, and continues to play, an important role in the lives of our servicemen and women, the sweethearts and lovers they left behind or those they met while serving.
The Memorial’s exhibition Of love and war, looks at the impact of war on these relationships and the ways in which Australians incorporated affairs of the heart into their wartime lives.
There are five themes to the exhibition which can be explored further on these pages. ‘First glance’ will take you to objects which explore the exhibition themes of ‘Romance and Recruitment’ and ‘Meetings and Marriages’. ‘Separation’ examines ‘Letters and Longing’ and ‘Loss and Loneliness’, while ‘The future’ looks at what happens after the war with ‘Beyond the Battlefield’.
The exhibition was on display at the Memorial from 3 December 2009 until 5 May 2010.
You can see more photos in our Of love and war set on Flickr Commons.
ABC’s Big Ideas program: Rebecca Britt speaks about ‘Love and War’
Video of curator Rebecca Britt talking about her book Stories of love and war on YouTube
You can contribute too:
Join our Love and war group on Flickr and share your stories and photos of Australians in love and war: how people meet or marry and how they maintain a relationship under the strain of separation and the tensions of war.
Blog posts on of Love and war:
- English sculptor Gladys Blaiberg (1882-1969) 30 August 2010 by Cherie Prosser
- Love Letter Update for Valentine’s Day 13 February 2010 by Nicholas Schmidt
- Conservation Cleaning of a Wedding Dress 14 December 2009 by Jessie Firth
- “Dorothy” the Kitbag 11 December 2009 by Bridie Kirkpatrick
- Wedding Dresses, Part 3 19 November 2009 by Sarah Clayton
- A different day at work 13 November 2009 by Rebecca Britt
- 60 year old sweat on a wedding dress – a conservation challenge 12 November 2009 by Emma Jones
- Wedding Dresses, part 2 11 November 2009 by Sarah Clayton
A wounded AIF soldier receives an affectionate welcome home at the Anzac Buffet. H11574 See this image Flickr Commons
REL39470 Mrs Audrey Norton's wedding dress.
