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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

Adopt an Aussie


Guest paddy

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G'day

Given that the vast majority of the individuals named on the new Hyde Park memorial will not be specifically visited by friends or relations, it might be nice if perfect strangers took the time to say hello.

My special men are

Jackie Schwarer , 7th Battalion

Frank Berriman, Aust Machine Gun Corps

Albert Kemp, 6th Battalion

I have no connection with Major Tubb VC, except that Jackie served and died with him.

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Paddy,

watched it on telly last night and overall found it quite a moving ceremony. Like an idiot I didn't record it.

Next time I am in London, I will certainly visit as I picked out quite a few places listed on it. Polygon Wood, Pozieres, St Quentin.

Peter ;)

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I was watching this memorial service on the news when the camera focused on the Australian places names engraved on the memorial, and I spotted East Fremantle straight away. Got a bit of a buzz at seeing that as it's my home area.

This memorial will definately be on my visit list next time I'm in the UK.

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I went to the Australian Memorial yesterday while the ceremony took place. The engraving of all the thousands of names must have taken ages to complete. I was told that the names were taken directly from the soldiers' papers so sometimes the spellings (especially of the Welsh names ) were quite imaginative. I spent a long time looking for Rhayader (but haven't found it yet) and noticed East Fremantle as well as Nantmel & Beulah (tiny villages in Mid Wales) and Chester-le-Street among many others. The memorial is more impressive in reality than in photographs especially with the water flowing over the surfaces which are textured with the engraved place names that are then more broadly carved in places to create the larger names of the different campaigns of two world wars.

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Will the water feature eventually wear through the stone

That is exactly what I wondered when I saw it. The water is very gentle and only covers a part of the monument but if there are any stone masons out there maybe they could let us know. The stone used is Australian granite so hopefully it will be dense enough to resist any wear.

The Dedication Service booklet includes a statement by the principal architect:

"The form chosen for the Memorial reflects the sweep of Australian landscape, the breadth and the generosity of our people, the openness that we believe should characterise our culture."

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The stone used is Australian granite so hopefully it will be dense enough to resist any wear.

G'day

Walked right into that one.

This blockhead thought the names to be engraved were of the individual casualties. But that MAY indicate that Aussie Media build up has not been overwhelming.

Still don't know how to do that "here" thing. But if interested in "tecno bits" try www.sial.rmit.edu.au which gives the project page of R.M.I.T., a Melbourne Uni. One of the links to Veterans Affairs gives all Battle sites & "home towns".

ooRoo

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Just checked that link thanks Paddy . They remembered to put Kalgoorlie on it !!...Beauty ! . It will be great to see the Memorial oneday .

Phil.

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Phil & Myrtle

Maybe we could amend the Header to "adopt an Aussie town" Of the men I nominated, Jackie & Frank were from Rutherglen, Albert from Brunswick, all in Victoria.

Brunswick reminds me of a WW2 "Bluey & Curley" cartoon strip where 3 Aussie POW's are being "observed" by their German guard. He is perlexed when he overhears them discussing home. I lived in Heidelberg, 1 in Coburg & the third in Brunswick, all suburbs of Melbourne. It had some significance because dad lived in Lubeck, western Victoria for a while.

Wonder what the Kaiser would think if he saw that his enemies were joining up from the above, and from others like Germantown, Carlsrhue etc.

Regarding your Welsh names Myrtle, there are many transplanted to Australia. Whilst your Chester-le-Street would be safe, there are still two Beulahs with Aust Postcodes. Not having a current postcode is inconclusive though, as many Rural settlements have vanished. Some are quaintly marked as [locality] on modern road maps, others have amalgamated and Germantown etc were changed by about 1915.

As the data was collected from attestation papers, it may be of interest to know that WW1 recruits were asked:- In or near what Parish or Town were you born?.

In the Parish of....................in or

near the Town of....................................

in the County of....................................

Here's the part I love,

Are you a natural born British Subject or a Naturalised British Subject?

From that data it would be extremely tedious to identify whether many of the place names are in the old world or new.

Any Glaswegian wondering how Rutherglen Victoria was named may be impressed to know that after finding gold, some blokes held a meeting in the pub to break away from the local shire. Because mine host was a good host they gave him naming rights. As a true Scot he chose his birthplace.

My favourite place is Barongarook! Once a siding on a narrow guage railway through the Otway Ranges. Adopt that & you won't have many rivals.

ooRoo

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The stone used is Australian granite so hopefully it will be dense enough to resist any wear.

Hi Paddy

I was talking about the stone, honest.

Interesting to hear that there are Beulahs in Australia. The Beulah in Mid Wales is very near to Llanwrtyd Wells which is also on the Australian Memorial. Surely there aren't any Llanwrtyd Wells in Australia. There is another Beulah in Ceredigion, West Wales. Rhayader, which is on the memorial somewhere, is in Wales as it was the home town of Cpl. Thomas Meredith 1st Bn. AIF. By the way Chester-le-Street is in the North east of England. I mentioned it as it 's my husband's part of the country.

After the ceremony many people walked slowly along the memorial to read all the place names and find the ones that meant something special to them. It was good to hear Australians who had come over especially for the ceremony talking with Australians who have lived in London for many years.

Some people had left single poppies on the top of ledges below particular places commemorated and a couple of people had left photographs of men who had fought in WW2. It's excellent that the memorial has been built in that area.

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Bore du, [down here anyway, & compliments of www.ipl.org/div/kidspace] Myrtle!

Now I'm on the horns of a dilemma.

Option A : Respond Eye Gnu That. Nod Nod etc.

Ootion B : Live up to what's expected of your typical b****y Aussie.

Major problem is after 65 years in Oz, I'm still confused as to where to find one.

Now that this Memorial identifies where a relatively small proportion of our population, those joining up in recent wars, were actually born, MAYBE certain people will reflect a moment before "puttin' in the boots."

For instance, I don't think my Grandkids would rush to join up for a future world war. They can talk daily with their parents, grandparents, and great grandmothers who were born in Australia, Italy, Austria or Sri Lanka. There could be an identity problem. Still what's new? Jackie was killed in September 1917. Although [as I understand] she was a naturalised BRITISH Subject, his mother was debarred from the November Referendum on Conscription, because she was German.

Well before 1914, Dad's older brother was annually imprisoned because he refused his compulsory cadet training. Particularly after 1916 there were tensions in our part Irish, part German, part Scottish family and Uncle Frank made a bit of a name for himself in Melbourne. I'm as proud of him as I am of Jackie.

Then again, it has been said that "We" are all well-balanced, level-headed & even-handed. That's so we don't lose the chip from either shoulder. [Apologies to Dave Allan]

But if you're still "here" Myrtle, LLanwrtyd & Rhayader are not recognised as Aussie Place names. But try www.ga.gov.au

If you don't find enough Welsh names on there to keep you happy, there have been other methods of infiltration.

Three of my grandkids have attended school at a "Glamorgan" campus in Melbourne.

ooRoo

Pat

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Bore Da Paddy

(However I don't really speak Welsh although my parents did)

I like the way in which names of villages and towns have been used on the Australian Memorial to accentuate the cosmopolitan nature of the Country. Men from all those places around the world fought in AIF uniform. That says a lot.

Nos da

Myrtle

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It was good to hear Australians who had come over especially for the ceremony talking with Australians who have lived in London for many years.....It's excellent that the memorial has been built in that area

Excuse my ignorance, but are there equivilant memorials to the men from other corners of the Empire in London? I guess I'm referring specifically to Canadian, Indian and Kiwis, although of course men (and women) from all over the 'pink parts' of the map served with distinction in both world wars.

I too watched the ceremony as it was broadcast live on Aussie telly and found it moving. Comment was made of the fact that both Prime Minister Howard's Father and Grandfather served in France with the AIF during WW1. I had read this previously, but was left wondering why he was'nt wearing his fathers medals on his right chest, as I think this would've been entirely appropriate for this particular ceremony.

I found this on the web. Mr Howard yesterday admitted the shrine would convey personal meaning, as both his grandfather and father fought in World War I, meeting on one of the battlefields. His father Lyall, who was gassed and wounded on the Western Front yet fought in World War II, died when the future Prime Minister was just 16.

I still think he's a great pillock though!

Anyone know if Blair's family has an equivilant history? They didn't mention it in the commentray, so I'm supposing not.

cheers...Ian.

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