I will admit to being a bit cynical about the 'ANZACization' of Australian history, and some aspects of the Centenary celebrations. There are, however, times when even an old cynic like me is given pause to think.
One of the more impressive achievements of the Centenary commemoration is this huge digital archive. You can search for people who served in WW1 by name, unit, street or suburb. It is worth a look.
https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/index.html
I put in my street name and found 2 names of men who served. By looking through the suburb records for Abbotsford I found 4 more (my street name is commonly misspelled). The residential part of my street is barely 100 metres (it was a bit longer in 1914) and is full of 4 meter wide terrace houses. It provided 6 young men to the Australian Imperial Force. The surrounding streets provided dozens more, including one from a house that backs onto mine.
Exactly 100 years ago today a young man who lived a few houses down from me departed on the troop ship Benalla. He was a 21 year old single painter and was probably an English immigrant (his next of kin was in England). It is likely that he was a boarder. He was in the 8th Battalion AIF. He was one of the men who waded ashore at ANZAC Cove on April 25, 1915. They seized the high ground held by Turkish forces. Two weeks later his unit was sent to Cape Helles on the southern tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula to assist English troops in the First Battle of Krithia. This brave young man died on July 9, 1915, most likely in the Third Battle of Krithia - over 15,000 lives lost over a few hundred metres of ground. He is buried in a cemetery in Helles, Turkey. Such a waste.
A year later another man from the same house enlisted, a 33 year old man with a wife in England. He saw service on the Western Front and returned to Australia where he died in 1940 aged 60. Another young man from the house next door enlisted in 1916. Two other men from exactly across the street had enlisted in early 1915. A few meters of one little street in Melbourne. Remarkable. Moving.
I suppose that is what they mean by 'history coming alive'.
One of the more impressive achievements of the Centenary commemoration is this huge digital archive. You can search for people who served in WW1 by name, unit, street or suburb. It is worth a look.
https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/index.html
I put in my street name and found 2 names of men who served. By looking through the suburb records for Abbotsford I found 4 more (my street name is commonly misspelled). The residential part of my street is barely 100 metres (it was a bit longer in 1914) and is full of 4 meter wide terrace houses. It provided 6 young men to the Australian Imperial Force. The surrounding streets provided dozens more, including one from a house that backs onto mine.
Exactly 100 years ago today a young man who lived a few houses down from me departed on the troop ship Benalla. He was a 21 year old single painter and was probably an English immigrant (his next of kin was in England). It is likely that he was a boarder. He was in the 8th Battalion AIF. He was one of the men who waded ashore at ANZAC Cove on April 25, 1915. They seized the high ground held by Turkish forces. Two weeks later his unit was sent to Cape Helles on the southern tip of the Gallipoli Peninsula to assist English troops in the First Battle of Krithia. This brave young man died on July 9, 1915, most likely in the Third Battle of Krithia - over 15,000 lives lost over a few hundred metres of ground. He is buried in a cemetery in Helles, Turkey. Such a waste.
A year later another man from the same house enlisted, a 33 year old man with a wife in England. He saw service on the Western Front and returned to Australia where he died in 1940 aged 60. Another young man from the house next door enlisted in 1916. Two other men from exactly across the street had enlisted in early 1915. A few meters of one little street in Melbourne. Remarkable. Moving.
I suppose that is what they mean by 'history coming alive'.
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