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Contents

Introduction
Speeches
The relevance of ANZAC
Gallipoli
The Western Front
Remembering and honouring: memorials and heritage
Anniversaries
Statistics, links and further reading
 

Library Publications

Anzac Day 2009

Section 5: Remembering and honouring: memorials and heritage

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day (11 November) is the anniversary of the armistice which ended World War I (1914–18). It is set aside as a day to remember the sacrifice of those who have died for Australia in wars and conflicts. It was originally known as Armistice Day.

For a history of how Armistice Day became Remembrance Day see Jennifer Amess, 'A day of remembrance: 11 November ', Sabretache , vol. 24, April–June 1983, pp. 25–26.

The Flanders poppy (a bright red poppy) has been part of Armistice or Remembrance Day since the early 1920s. Wearing a red poppy is a sign of remembrance for the servicemen and women who have died in war.

For further information see the Background Note, 'Remembrance Day 2008—the 90th anniversary of the end of World War I', published by the Parliamentary Library in November 2008.

War memorials overseas

Kevin Blackburn discusses the restored Changi Murals originally created in a chapel (St Luke's) within the huge prisoner of war camp established in the Changi area by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore in February 1942. Between September 1942 and May 1943 five near life-size murals of scenes from the New Testament were painted by a British prisoner, Stanley Warren, on two of the chapel's walls.

The Hellfire Pass Memorial in Thailand is dedicated to those Australian and other allied prisoners of war (POWs) and Asian labourers who suffered and died at Hellfire Pass (Burma-Thailand Railway) and elsewhere in the Asia Pacific region during World War II. It was officially opened on 24 April 1998 by the Prime Minister, John Howard and the Prime Minister of Thailand, Chuan Leekpai.

The Australian War Memorial in London was dedicated on the morning of 11 November 2003 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister John Howard, in the presence of HRH The Duke of Kent,  Prime Minister Tony Blair, and a party of 27 Australian World War II veterans. The Memorial features a long, curving wall of West Australian green granite, reflecting the sweep of the Australian landscape. Inscribed on the wall are the names of many of the battle sites where Australian and British military personnel fought, superimposed upon the names of thousands of home towns of Australian men and women who served during the two world wars. The periodic flow of water across the wall highlights these names and is designed to evoke memories of the suffering and loss felt by all.

The Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux in northern France was unveiled on 22 July 1938 by King George VI. It lies within the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery and was erected to commemorate all Australian soldiers who fought in France and Belgium during the First World War, and their dead, especially those with no known grave. The servicemen named on the memorial were Australians who died ‘in the battlefields of the Somme, Arras, the German advance of 1918 and the Advance to Victory’.

In 2008, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the battle on Anzac Day 1918, an Australian-led Dawn Service was held on Anzac Day at the Australian National Memorial near Villers-Bretonneux. This was the first official Australian Dawn Service to be held at the Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux. The Department of Veterans' Affairs has a website with information and advice for those planning to attend Anzac Day commemorative services on the Western Front.

The Park of the Australian Soldier at Be’er Shev in Israel, commemorating the charge of the Australian Mounted Division’s 4th Brigade against Turkish positions at Beersheba (now called Be’er Sheva) on 31 October 1917, was dedicated in Israel in April 2008. The 90th anniversary of the charge of the Australian Light Horse was commemorated in 2007.

The website of the Office of Australian War Graves contains links to overseas memorials, with information on current projects on overseas and Australian memorials.

War memorials in Australia

In addition to the Australian War Memorial (opened on 11 November 1941), there are a number of other sources of information about war memorials in Australia :

In 'War Memorials in the Australian landscape', Ken Inglis describes the importance of local memorials to Australian communities.

The Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial located in Ballarat, Victoria, honours more than 35 000 Australians who were held prisoner during the Boer War, World War I, World War II and the Korean War.

The National Capital Authority's internet pages have information about the memorials lining Anzac Parade in Canberra. New memorials planned for positions on or near Anzac Parade are: the Australian Peacekeeping Memorial, the site of which was dedicated on 29 November 2007, with the winning design announced on 19 December 2008; the Boer War Memorial the site of which was dedicated on 31 May 2008; and twin memorials to World Wars I and II on the Rond Terrace at the opposite end of Anzac Parade to the Australian War Memorial.

The Queensland Anzac Day Commemoration Committee's website has the history, descriptions and photographs of the State war memorials in each State capital.

The Australian-American Memorial  was dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 February 1954. It stands 73 metres high in the forecourt of Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey Square at the Department of Defence Offices, Russell, in Canberra. It is one of the city’s most prominent and distinctive landmarks. The press release from Senator the Hon. Robert Hill on the 50th anniversary of its unveiling contains further details.

War Memorials in Australia is a private site which contains information on locations, descriptions and images of war memorials in the states and territories of Australia.

Remembrance Driveway, which runs between Sydney and Canberra, was suggested by the Garden Club of Australia. Over fifty groves have been planted alongside the Hume and Federal Highways.  The Driveway is a memorial to those who served in World War II and subsequent wars. The first of its trees—at Macquarie Place in Sydney (a plane tree), and the War Memorial in Canberra (a snow gum)—were planted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1954. It was intended to have a variety of trees, each selected for its suitability to local soil and climatic conditions. Each of the trees honours a serviceman or woman and some bear a plaque with his or her name. During the 1990s the Remembrance Driveway Committee and the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority worked together to develop 'Victoria Cross' rest areas along the highway—Gordon VC, Mackay VC, Kingsbury VC, Chowne VC, Derrick VC, French VC, Kibby VC, Edmondson VC, Wheatley VC and Gurney VC.

Australia’s military heritage

Post-1945 Conflicts Gallery at the Australian War Memorial

After a major redevelopment at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, the Australian War Memorial’s Post-1945 Conflicts Gallery was opened by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 26 February 2008. The new gallery expands the displays of post-1945 conflicts, including the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency, Indonesian Konfrontasi, the Vietnam War, peacekeeping, and more recent conflicts, including the First Gulf War and the current Afghanistan and Iraq wars. There are many exhibits, artworks, relics, stories and large- and small-scale multimedia presentations which depict Australians in war and peacekeeping since 1945.

Major exhibits include an Iroquois helicopter, using cutting-edge light and sound technology to show troops leaving the helicopter for a jungle patrol. Businessman Mr Dick Smith provided $1 million of sponsorship for this display. Visitors are also able to enter the actual bridge of HMAS Brisbane, which served in the Vietnam and Gulf Wars, and be part of an interactive experience. Another new addition is the film in the Vietnam War gallery which was commissioned by the War Memorial to re-enact the Battle of Long Tan. In 'A letter from Long Tan', Chris Roberts describes the story behind the making of the film and the lengths to which the the Memorial went to ensure that the film is as historically accurate as possible. (Wartime, no. 46, 2009, pp. 52-55)

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

Nominal Roll of Vietnam Veterans

The Nominal Roll of Vietnam Veterans was originally launched in August 2006. Approximately 60 000 individuals served with Australia’s defence forces in Vietnam or in the waters adjacent to Vietnam between 23 May 1962 and 29 April 1975. The newly enhanced version of the on-line Nominal Roll was launched on Vietnam Veterans’ Day 18 August 2007. This provides additional details of each individual’s military service in Vietnam.

Gallipoli websites

The Visit Gallipoli website includes history and educational resources, and for those planning a visit, there is also a guided walk that takes trekkers to 14 locations such as North Beach, Anzac Cove, Shrapnel Gulley, Lone Pine, Quinn’s Post and The Nek.

Gallipoli and the Anzacs, created by the Information Services Branch of the Board of Studies NSW for the Department of Veterans' Affairs, contains a range of educational resources.

Western Front

The Office of Australian War Graves (within the DVA) have stepped up activities to enhance commemoration of Australian service in France and Belgium. In response to an increasing number of visitors to the battlefields and war cemeteries, eighteen interpretive panels have been erected in France and two in Belgium to explain the significance of each battle site. A feasibility study had been conducted into the possibility of establishing an interpretive centre for Australians (and others) visiting the Western Front, however, the government is now assessing other options to commemorate Australians on the Western Front.

The Australian Corps Memorial Park at Le Hamel—one of several memorials on the Western Front—was closed to visitors in February 2008 for rebuilding, after the original memorial deteriorated due to environmental damage and vandalism. The work was completed by August 2008 and the memorial was re-dedicated by the Governor General on 8 November 2008.

Remains of war dead

Bodies of service personnel are often discovered on old battlefields or in wrecked ships or aircraft. When such discoveries are made, the standard practice is to inter bodies in a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery.

Northern France

In May and June 2008 archaeological excavation work was carried out on a mass grave confirming that the site contains human remains, likely to be those of a number of the 170 Australian soldiers and 327 British soldiers missing after the Battle of Fromelles in 1916. These soldiers are believed to have been buried by the Germans in a paddock near Pheasant Wood in northern France in July 1916 after the battle. The Army History Unit re-engaged a team from the Glasgow University Archaeological Division which conducted a non-invasive survey at Fromelles in May 2007. This earlier survey revealed underground anomalies matching five pits seen in aerial photographs after the battle.

The Australian and British Governments announced on 4 October 2008 that the remains would be recovered and re-interred in a new cemetery and work to exhume the soldiers’ bodies is due to begin on 5 May 2009. Recently, plans for a new cemetery in an open field in Fromelles were unveiled. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission will begin construction of the new walled cemetery in June. On 2 April 2009 the Australian Government published a list of the names of 191 Australian soldiers whose remains may be among those being recovered. The Department of Defence has a website with details of the project .

HMAS Sydney II

The wreck of HMAS Sydney II, which sank with all 645 crew after engaging the German raider HSK Kormoran on 19 November 1941, was found on 16 March 2008, twelve nautical miles from the wreck of the Kormoran and eight nautical miles from the scene of the principal battle site, at a depth of 2470 metres. The Kormoran lost over 80 sailors in its attack on the Sydney. The Finding Sydney Foundation website contains video footage of both wrecks, background information on the ships and a roll of honour. ABC television broadcast a documentary, The Hunt for HMAS Sydney, which detailed the successful search for both the Sydney and the Kormoran.

Both wrecks have been given legal protection by the Australian Government under the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976. On 31 March 2008 the Australian Government announced the establishment of a commission of inquiry into the loss of HMAS Sydney, which is headed by His Honour Mr Terence Cole. The Commission of Inquiry has now completed its public hearings.

A memorial ceremony attended by some relatives of the crew of HMAS Sydney was held over the site of the wreck of the Sydney and then over the site of the wreck of the Kormoran on 16 April 2008. The Australian Government also held a national memorial service on 24 April in Sydney. On 19 November 2008, the 67th anniversary of the sinking, a memorial service took place on board the current HMAS Sydney above the wreck site, in conjunction with a national memorial service at the Australian War Memorial. At the same time the remains of the 'unknown sailor', the sailor believed to be the only crew member to be found after the sinking of the Sydney were interred at Geraldton. While there is already a memorial to the loss of HMAS Sydney at Geraldton in Western Australia, the government is considering building a national memorial to the Sydney either in Sydney or Canberra.

World War II aircraft wrecks

An ABC Radio National Background Briefing program, ‘Lost planes, lost men’, examined the situation of the many Australian war planes which crashed in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific during World War II, and the trade in war souvenirs.

Vietnam

The Army History Unit has supported searches for the remains of missing personnel in Vietnam. In 2007 the remains of three Australian servicemen, Lance Corporal Richard Parker, Private Peter Gillson and Lance Corporal John Gillespie were found in Vietnam with the help of Operation Aussies Home, and repatriated to Australia.

The remains of the last missing Australian soldier, Private David Fisher, who fell while suspended below a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) helicopter during a ‘hot extraction’ of his SASR patrol in 1969, were found in August 2008. Private Fisher's remains were returned to Australia in October 2008.

Two RAAF airmen from 2 Squadron remain missing in action in Vietnam. Flying Officer Michael Herbert and Pilot Officer Robert Carver were believed to have been killed when their Canberra bomber disappeared during a night bombing mission in South Vietnam. On 13 November 2008 the government announced that it had begun a comprehensive investigation in an attempt to account for the missing airmen.

On 21 April 2009, the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel, the Hon. Warren Snowdon, announced that an Australian Defence Investigation Team is confident that it has found the wreckage of the Canberra bomber flown by the two missing airmen. An archaeological dig will be carried out to determine if there are any human remains at the crash site.

Veterans

Australia's last surviving World War I veteran

John (Jack) Campbell Ross— born 1899

Jack Ross enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1918 as a wireless operator, but the war ended before he saw active service. On 11 March 2009 he celebrated his 110th  birthday in Bendigo, Victoria, making him Australia's last remaining World War I serviceman and Australia's oldest man. The Australian Government paid tribute to Mr Ross on the occasion of his 110th birthday.

Veterans farewelled in recent years

World War I
William Evan Crawford Allan—1899 to 2005

'Last of our Great War fighters fades away' by Stuart Rintoul (Australian, 19 October 2005).

Peter Casserly—1898 to 2005

'Last survivor of western front carnage dies at 107'—obituary for Peter Casserly (Sunday Canberra Times, 26 June 2005).

Gilbert Edward Bennion—1898 to 2005

'Veteran of two wars did not fire a shot in anger' by Greg Stolz (Courier Mail, 1 February 2005).

Marcel Caux—1899 to 2004

'Au revoir, Marcel, we hardly knew you' by Tony Stephens (Sydney Morning Herald, 28 August 2004).

Edward (Ted) David Smout—1898 to 2004

'Last hurrah for people's hero'—obituary for Edward ( Ted ) David Smout  by Emma Chalmers and Brian Williams (Courier Mail, 1 July 2004).

End of Section 5

 

 

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