2014 marks the 100th anniversary of WW1, an important date not only for Australia, but also for New Zealand - hence the acronym ANZAC.
Troops from Great Britain, Canada and the USA fought in this war and this should not be forgotten either.
This is easily one of the best documentaries I have ever watched, and am still watching while I type. Not only does it give an amazing insight into how the War Memorial at Canberra works, but more importantly the history of our soldiers during WW1, especially at Gallipoli.
In this day of 'political correctness' you will not find too much of that. I think this is sad.
War is not to be glorified but our war heroes deserve to be honoured. It has been interesting to see the remarks of several past and present prime ministers. It is sad that they are not all in agreement regarding the role played by the ADF or IDF as it was probably called back then.
Consider that many enlisted because they responded to the needs of the 'mother country' - Great Britain.
I am very impressed with Neil Oliver's series.
He has handled this subject with incredible empathy and depth. He has brought our war heroes to life, and given them the credit they richly deserve. His contact with their descendants has been heartwarming, although some of the stories have been somewhat gut-wrenching. If you get the chance it is time well-spent.
Join renowned historian Neil Oliver as he goes behind-the-scenes inside the Australian War Memorial. Following the events as they unfold across a year in the working life of Australia’s most iconic museum as it prepares to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War.
The Australian War Memorial features an extraordinary treasure trove of the nation’s war history, and Neil Oliver has unprecedented access into the heart of its vaults. “It’s always fascinating to get behind the scenes of any museum and the Australian War Memorial is in part a museum, and museums are worlds unto themselves. They have a population, they have customs, they have rituals, there’s a structure to every day but the War Memorial is only a building, it’s the people and their active attempts to preserve and to research and to understand more about the collection that is active remembrance.They are the Memorial,” says Neil.
This landmark five-part series also features insightful interviews with Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and former Prime Ministers, Paul Keating, John Howard, Bob Hawke and Malcolm Fraser, as well Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove, and VC recipients Mark Donaldson and Ben Roberts-Smith. Bringing to life Australia’s wartime history through the incredible stories and artefacts held within the vaults of this world renowned memorial.
With thanks to History Channel
More details here.
Another clip here.
A list of Victoria Cross recipients - the highest medal for valour - for WW1 is here.
Picture credit and story about Charles Bean: Herald Sun.
War Memorial opens redeveloped WWI Gallery
After a
$32 million renovation, the Australian War Memorial's updated World War I
galleries will reopen to the public.
These
popular displays closed two years ago for a major revamp ahead of the centenary
of the Great War.
Historic
items unseen for many years will be returning, together with newly-acquired
items such as General Sir John Monash's uniform and medals, a 4.5-inch
howitzer, and the Bullecourt tank - one of just two WWI German tanks in the
world.
Also on
display from Monday will be relics from the 2010 excavations at the site of the
Pheasant Wood mass grave, where Australian and British soldiers killed in the
1916 Battle of Fromelles were interred.
Returning
will be the dioramas of WWI battlefields - carefully constructed tableaux of
particular battles crafted of plaster, newspaper, horsehair and chicken wire
over a timber frame and featuring soldier figures cast from pewter and lead.
Each figure is unique to a particular diorama.
Although
dating from the 1920s, they remain extraordinarily popular despite the modern
advent of interactive computer technology.
Their
careful renovation involved removing 40 years' worth of accumulated dust and
grime.
The
gallery renovation is the War Memorial's major capital work for the centenary
of Australian involvement in the conflict, in which 330,000 Australians served
overseas and 62,000 died.
With thanks to Sky News
Red Baron debate flies again at memorial - The Australian December 1st - 2014
IN its new World War I gallery to be opened today, the Australian War Memorial has a piece of red-painted fabric bearing a faded black cross.
It’s a creased reflection of a debate that ran for decades over
who shot down the Germany fighter ace known as the “Red Baron” — a
Canadian pilot in a Sopwith Camel or an Australian gunner in the
trenches below.
The cloth bearing the German insignia was cut from a wing of the Fokker Triplane flown by Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the war’s top-scoring fighter pilot.
Von Richthofen had shot down 80 Allied aircraft and on April 21, 1918, was chasing a British Camel he intended to be his 81st “kill” when he flew low over Australian troops trenches near the Somme River.
Weaving ahead of him in a desperate attempt to escape was an inexperienced pilot, Wilfred May, a Canadian flying with Britain’s new Royal Air Force.
Another Canadian, Captain Roy Brown, dived steeply in a bid to save Lieutenant May and fired a short burst of machinegun fire before he was forced to pull up to avoid hitting the ground.
Von Richthofen swerved away to avoid Brown’s attack but then resumed pursuing May. About two minutes later, the German ace crashed.
War memorial historian Nick Fletcher told The Australian the RAF was very keen to claim this “kill” so it could tell the nation it had bested the German ace in an aerial duel. So determined was it to claim the Red Baron that Brown’s squadron adopted a falling red eagle on its coat of arms.
But it has become clear over the years that von Richthofen was much more likely to have been shot down by the Australians in the mud below.
Australian sergeant Frederick Popkin, a carpenter turned anti-aircraft machine gunner, described how he saw the British Camel pursued by the Fokker.
He fired at the Fokker with his Vickers machinegun as it flew towards him and again from the side as it turned.
He saw the bullets knock wood and metal off the red aircraft. Then it veered away and crashed.
Two other Australians, Gunner Robert Buie, a former fisherman, and Gunner WJ Evans, a shearer, also fired on the Fokker, and both believed they hit it.
Mr Fletcher said hundreds of other Australians were shooting at the aircraft as it passed over them, though one of the gunners was more likely to have hit it as they were trained to fire a good distance ahead to allow for speed.
The Red Baron died as the first troops reached him. He is said to have uttered one word, “kaput”.
By Brendan Nicholson for The Australian
Australian War Memorial director Dr Brendan Nelson with First World War Galleries project director Katherine McMahon look at Winged Victory on display in the new galleries. Photo: Jeffrey Chan
Thanks to WA Today.
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Biopics Now Focus On Key Moments Rather Than A Whole Life
The Best Movies Of 2014
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Russell Crowe's "The Water Diviner" Is Not Complete Fiction
The cloth bearing the German insignia was cut from a wing of the Fokker Triplane flown by Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the war’s top-scoring fighter pilot.
Von Richthofen had shot down 80 Allied aircraft and on April 21, 1918, was chasing a British Camel he intended to be his 81st “kill” when he flew low over Australian troops trenches near the Somme River.
Weaving ahead of him in a desperate attempt to escape was an inexperienced pilot, Wilfred May, a Canadian flying with Britain’s new Royal Air Force.
Another Canadian, Captain Roy Brown, dived steeply in a bid to save Lieutenant May and fired a short burst of machinegun fire before he was forced to pull up to avoid hitting the ground.
Von Richthofen swerved away to avoid Brown’s attack but then resumed pursuing May. About two minutes later, the German ace crashed.
War memorial historian Nick Fletcher told The Australian the RAF was very keen to claim this “kill” so it could tell the nation it had bested the German ace in an aerial duel. So determined was it to claim the Red Baron that Brown’s squadron adopted a falling red eagle on its coat of arms.
But it has become clear over the years that von Richthofen was much more likely to have been shot down by the Australians in the mud below.
Australian sergeant Frederick Popkin, a carpenter turned anti-aircraft machine gunner, described how he saw the British Camel pursued by the Fokker.
He fired at the Fokker with his Vickers machinegun as it flew towards him and again from the side as it turned.
He saw the bullets knock wood and metal off the red aircraft. Then it veered away and crashed.
Two other Australians, Gunner Robert Buie, a former fisherman, and Gunner WJ Evans, a shearer, also fired on the Fokker, and both believed they hit it.
Mr Fletcher said hundreds of other Australians were shooting at the aircraft as it passed over them, though one of the gunners was more likely to have hit it as they were trained to fire a good distance ahead to allow for speed.
The Red Baron died as the first troops reached him. He is said to have uttered one word, “kaput”.
By Brendan Nicholson for The Australian
After a $32 million renovation, the Australian War Memorial's updated World War I galleries will reopen to the public.
These popular displays closed two years ago for a major revamp ahead of the centenary of the Great War.
Historic items unseen for many years will be returning, together with newly-acquired items such as General Sir John Monash's uniform and medals, a 4.5-inch howitzer, and the Bullecourt tank - one of just two WWI German tanks in the world.
Also on display from Monday will be relics from the 2010 excavations at the site of the Pheasant Wood mass grave, where Australian and British soldiers killed in the 1916 Battle of Fromelles were interred.
Returning will be the dioramas of WWI battlefields - carefully constructed tableaux of particular battles crafted of plaster, newspaper, horsehair and chicken wire over a timber frame and featuring soldier figures cast from pewter and lead. Each figure is unique to a particular diorama.
Although dating from the 1920s, they remain extraordinarily popular despite the modern advent of interactive computer technology.
Their careful renovation involved removing 40 years' worth of accumulated dust and grime.
The gallery renovation is the War Memorial's major capital work for the centenary of Australian involvement in the conflict, in which 330,000 Australians served overseas and 62,000 died.
- See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2014/11/30/war-memorial-opens-redeveloped-wwi-gallery.html#sthash.LbH5RPdZ.dpuf
These popular displays closed two years ago for a major revamp ahead of the centenary of the Great War.
Historic items unseen for many years will be returning, together with newly-acquired items such as General Sir John Monash's uniform and medals, a 4.5-inch howitzer, and the Bullecourt tank - one of just two WWI German tanks in the world.
Also on display from Monday will be relics from the 2010 excavations at the site of the Pheasant Wood mass grave, where Australian and British soldiers killed in the 1916 Battle of Fromelles were interred.
Returning will be the dioramas of WWI battlefields - carefully constructed tableaux of particular battles crafted of plaster, newspaper, horsehair and chicken wire over a timber frame and featuring soldier figures cast from pewter and lead. Each figure is unique to a particular diorama.
Although dating from the 1920s, they remain extraordinarily popular despite the modern advent of interactive computer technology.
Their careful renovation involved removing 40 years' worth of accumulated dust and grime.
The gallery renovation is the War Memorial's major capital work for the centenary of Australian involvement in the conflict, in which 330,000 Australians served overseas and 62,000 died.
- See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2014/11/30/war-memorial-opens-redeveloped-wwi-gallery.html#sthash.LbH5RPdZ.dpuf
After a $32 million renovation, the Australian War Memorial's updated World War I galleries will reopen to the public.
These popular displays closed two years ago for a major revamp ahead of the centenary of the Great War.
Historic items unseen for many years will be returning, together with newly-acquired items such as General Sir John Monash's uniform and medals, a 4.5-inch howitzer, and the Bullecourt tank - one of just two WWI German tanks in the world.
Also on display from Monday will be relics from the 2010 excavations at the site of the Pheasant Wood mass grave, where Australian and British soldiers killed in the 1916 Battle of Fromelles were interred.
Returning will be the dioramas of WWI battlefields - carefully constructed tableaux of particular battles crafted of plaster, newspaper, horsehair and chicken wire over a timber frame and featuring soldier figures cast from pewter and lead. Each figure is unique to a particular diorama.
Although dating from the 1920s, they remain extraordinarily popular despite the modern advent of interactive computer technology.
Their careful renovation involved removing 40 years' worth of accumulated dust and grime.
The gallery renovation is the War Memorial's major capital work for the centenary of Australian involvement in the conflict, in which 330,000 Australians served overseas and 62,000 died.
- See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2014/11/30/war-memorial-opens-redeveloped-wwi-gallery.html#sthash.LbH5RPdZ.dpuf
These popular displays closed two years ago for a major revamp ahead of the centenary of the Great War.
Historic items unseen for many years will be returning, together with newly-acquired items such as General Sir John Monash's uniform and medals, a 4.5-inch howitzer, and the Bullecourt tank - one of just two WWI German tanks in the world.
Also on display from Monday will be relics from the 2010 excavations at the site of the Pheasant Wood mass grave, where Australian and British soldiers killed in the 1916 Battle of Fromelles were interred.
Returning will be the dioramas of WWI battlefields - carefully constructed tableaux of particular battles crafted of plaster, newspaper, horsehair and chicken wire over a timber frame and featuring soldier figures cast from pewter and lead. Each figure is unique to a particular diorama.
Although dating from the 1920s, they remain extraordinarily popular despite the modern advent of interactive computer technology.
Their careful renovation involved removing 40 years' worth of accumulated dust and grime.
The gallery renovation is the War Memorial's major capital work for the centenary of Australian involvement in the conflict, in which 330,000 Australians served overseas and 62,000 died.
- See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/2014/11/30/war-memorial-opens-redeveloped-wwi-gallery.html#sthash.LbH5RPdZ.dpuf
Australian War Memorial director Dr Brendan Nelson with First World War Galleries project director Katherine McMahon look at Winged Victory on display in the new galleries. Photo: Jeffrey Chan
Thanks to WA Today.
Related, and more information about ANZAC Day as it is a big part of Australian culture:
Jon English Sings "A Fortunate Life" from The Mini-Series About A.B.Facey
Biopics Now Focus On Key Moments Rather Than A Whole Life
The Best Movies Of 2014
Some Biopic Actors And Their Real-Life Counterparts
Russell Crowe's "The Water Diviner" Is Not Complete Fiction
Sir John Monash - WW1 hero. The first officer to lead an Australian regiment. All previously were lead by British commanders. A university, a hospital and a freeway are just a few examples, now named in his honour.
"Lest We Forget"
"Lest We Forget"
