Line of Soldiers

Line of Soldiers

Tuesday, 3 November 2015

ACTIVITY 4: Research Project.

ACTIVITY 4: Research Project. 

Captain Eric Ernest von Bibra, 1916
In the three Activities you have completed, Activity 1 -3 you have come to be aware that the War was not just about battles and bloodshed, it was also about individuals who came from all over Australia to "do their bit".

For the people you have researched in this Unit, doing their bit, often meant confronting prejudice. For Indigenous and non-white Australians there was a racial barrier. For women, especially those in the medical services, it was because they were considered too weak to bear the burden. Young soldiers who joined up for adventure found themselves faced with dangers they could not have for seen.

Consider the lives of the people in the activities, what made them want to contribute to the war effort. What did they do in the War? Did they survive, were they wounded, were they able to make a life when they returned?


Assignment: Media Retelling

Complete following assignment 
This can be a group project (a minimum 2 - maximum 4 participants) or an individual project.
A group project must tell the story of at least one soldier and one nurse.
An individual project will tell the story of one person.

No Ordinary Soldier:

Select a soldier (from the diversity case studies) or a nurse as a focus for your study.
If you have an ANZAC in your family you may choose that person.  

  • New Zealand soldiers enlistment details can be found in the New Zealand Archives the records there are similar to those of the Australian Imperial Forces.  A helpful Web Page for details concerning the New Zealander's contribution to the War can be found at New Zealand History.

Task Instructions

Your task is to teach the class the story of your chosen person or persons. You are to  explore background of your soldier/nurse, the type of life he or she may have lived before the War. 

Tell the story of what happened to these  people during the War, where did they enlist, where did they train? What ship did they sail out on and what ship did they return?     Develop some more inquiry questions (your teacher will check them) to guide a deeper investigation. 

  • What Battalions were where? 
  • What were Hospitals and Clearing Stations?
  • What were the physical and mental challenges facing the person?
    • where did they live? 
    • what did they eat?
    • what did they wear and how fit for purpose was their uniform?
    • what were the dangers they faced?
  • Describe your person's character before, during and after the war.
  • What did you find interesting bout your person and the facts you uncovered?

 Tell your story of the person you chose using either Keynote or iMovie. 

  • Collect images, develop a work plan and a script you will use to tell the story with the accompanying visuals; your group will be the experts teaching the class about the conditions the person faced before during and after the war. 
  •  Ensure you use reputable and reliable sources and reference them in credits at the end of your presentation.
  •  After your presentation you will provide your teacher with a copy of your work plan 
  •  Your Work Plan
    • contains your brainstorming activity
    • allocation of tasks and 
    • time frame for developing your presentation.

 

Your story should be approximately 2 to 3 minutes long and should be visually interesting and informative. Use the Keynote tutorial or the iMovie tutorial below if you need help.



You will be assessed on the following
  1. how interesting and factual your presentation is 
  2. how you referenced your sources.
  3. how well the story is presented (the story line).
  4. how well you worked together and shared responsibility 
  5. Your group or individual work plan


ACTIVITY 3 : Australian Women in WWI

ACTIVITY 3 : Australian Women in WWI

Nurses and Nursing Aides

Of the 3000 women who served as nurses or doctors during WW1 2139 enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) during WW1. They served in many different theaters of War.  The Australian Nurses worked along side the New Zealand Army Nursing Service and 259 enlisted with the British Army's Queen Alexandria's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS).

Another 790 Australian nurses and some women doctors joined private medical units in Europe and Britain. Those who joined the Scottish Women's Hospital Unit worked in dreadful conditions in Serbia. Those who served with the Red Cross or the American Red Cross saw equally terrible conditions working with the French Army (P. Reeves, 2008, The Other Anzacs).

The women served in locations,  Egypt, England, France, Gallipoli, Italy, Burma, Salonica and India.  Many worked in British hospitals or in British army nursing units, and later with Australian units, as well as hospital ships and in Australian hospitals for the wounded. Overseas, it was not practicable for Australian nurses to treat only Australians: they treated and nursed the wounded of many nations.
Voluntary Aid Detachment

Those women who volunteered as nurses and joined the Australian Imperial Forces had to be qualified nurses aged twenty-one and un-married. They had to purchase their own uniforms. Not only were they  poorly paid and they were not entitled to any service benefits on their return.

Nursing Aides known as Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs) were part of the Red Cross.  While some served overseas many performed formed a vital nursing services in hospitals and convalescent homes.




Ambulance Train.
Marion Leane Smith : Indigenous Nursing Sister.

There were many restrictions on Indigenous women gaining entry into Nursing.  Marion Smith served in the Canadian Army and in the QAIMNS. She was living in Canada for much of her early life and completed her nursing training in America. She was born in Liverpool, NSW, in 1891 and belonged to the  Cabrogal (Liverpool) clan of the Darug

 She worked in ambulance trains, ferrying wounded to hospital.

 

Military Medals and Service Medals.

Many of them were decorated, with eight receiving the Military Medal for bravery. Twenty-five died during their service.



The Red Cross also awarded medals to Nurses who had shown extraordinary courage. The Royal Red Cross Decoration was established by Queen Victoria. Florence Nightingale was the first to receive this prestigious award. Forty-four (44) Australian Army Nurses received the highly sort after award. Another 143 were awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross.

The award is made to a fully trained nurse of an officially recognised nursing service, military or civilian, without restriction to rank who have:
 'shown exceptional devotion or competency in performance of nursing duties with the Army in the field, or in Naval and Military or Air Force hospitals or in an Auxiliary War hospital over a continuous or long period or who has performed some exceptional act of bravery or devotion to the post of duty'.

Sister Pratt 

Military Medal : Sister R Pratt,

 Following a period in Britain, Sister Pratt was transferred to France in May 1917 and attached to No1 Australian Casualty Clearing Station at Bailleul.


At 3.40 am on the night of 3-4 July, Pratt was on duty attending to a patient when a bomb dropped and exploded close to the tent. Despite suffering serious penetrating shrapnel wounds in the right shoulder and lung she continued to attend to her patient. '[I] felt no pain immediately,' said Pratt later, 'but just the consciousness of having been hit by some terrific weight.' It was reported that 'throughout the whole proceeding she exhibited the utmost coolness and bravery, and by so doing was a conspicuous example to the patients and others, whose confidence was thereby absolutely maintained.'AWM.

 Nurses Under Fire

The AWM article "Wartime issue 50 - feature article: Nurses Under Fire"  gives a brief summary of the actions taken by the 8 recipients of the Military Medal.

Alice Ross King; Dorothy Cawood ;Mary Jane Derrer ; Clare Deacon; Rachel Pratt; Alicia Mary Kelly; Eileen King and Pearl Corkhill. 


  The Other ANZACS (video)

  

 The Red Cross 


The International Committee of the Red Cross was formed in 1862. The Australian Red Cross was formed in Melbourne at the beginning of 1914. In the beginning the Red Cross was concerned humanitarian needs for people regardless of race or religion. Red Cross volunteers raised millions of pounds (dollars) in funds and in relief parcels for soldiers and civilians.

In 1916 after the Battle for Verdun and the heavy losses to the French Army the NSW Red Cross offered its sister organisation the Criox-Rouge twenty Australian Nurses to assist France's medical and nursing capability. With more than 377,000 casualties and 162,000 men killed the French hospitals were near breaking point. Red Cross Nurses wore a different uniform.  With their dark blue shirts and jacket with pale blue piping and a dark blue hat they were quickly dubbed "the Bluebirds".
Some of the Bluebirds were ex AANS nurses who had married. Their career with the Army over, the Red Cross offered the women an opportunity to continue Nursing.

 While similar organisations such as the Salvation Army and local Comfort Groups also raised money and sent relief packages to soldiers the Red Cross became the most efficient.

The Red Cross formed a Wounded and Missing Persons Information Bureau in each state, so relatives could write to find out what had happened to their missing soldiers.

The Red Cross also supported Prisoners of War sending them information and relief packages.

The Red Cross and other organisations were supported by thousands of volunteers.

 Research Activity 

The following Nurse's are named in the Australian World War 1 Nurses Honour Role, they all died while serving over seas.
  1. BICKNELL, Louisa Annie 
    • Read the correspondence between the Army and Sister Bicknell's next of kin (NOK). What were the family wanting from the Army?
  2. BLAKE, Enid QAIMNS
    • Portrait of Matron Jean Miles Walker

    • Investigate Sister Blake's death and find similar tragedies that claimed the lives of other Nurses. 
  3. MILES-WALKER Jean, Matron
    •  What was a Matron? How was this different to the role of a Sister? Page 70 of Matron Miles-Walker's records describe her funeral. What does it say about the regard in which she was held?
    
Place your answers in your Folio

You will be assessed on
  1. your spelling and grammar, 
  2. your ability to find information and present that information clearly.
  3. your ability to infer reasons based on primary sources.



ACTIVITY 2: Boy Soldiers

ACTIVITY 2: Boy Soldiers


Jim Martin was one of many underage Australian boys who where known to have died during active service during WW1. His story has been written by Anthony Hill. In the book Soldier Boy, young Jim joined up for the adventure. He went to Gallipoli where he died of typhoid fever (also known as enteric fever). 

Trench life was associated with poor hygiene and poor sanitation. As a result food was easily contaminated by flies and rats, creating perfect environment for disease. More soldiers died of disease at during the War than from wounds.

The Roll of Honour (listing those who died during WW1) lists over 100 Australian boy soldiers or sailors who died during the war. The youngest boy to try and enlist was Reginald Garth, 12 year old stow-away. His father and older brothers has enlisted and he did not want to miss out on the adventure.

 
In Britain over 250,000 boys as young as Jim Martin joined up to be soldiers. Like Jim they sought adventure.

What they found in the trenches was something they could not have imagined.

The video  shows what happened to five British boys who served in the war, their experience was similar to those from Australia.  


Deserters


In the British, French and all other Armies men who deserted were shot. The British Army executed 306 of its own men for desertion. Three boy soldiers were executed as deserters. The Army used these executions as a deterrent for men deserting.

The Australian Government would not allow any Australian soldier to  be executed for desertion. Part of the reason for this is the government saw the Australian soldier as a volunteer and could not be compelled to stay. Like the British Army, the Australian army set up special training camps for underage boys. Once they turned 19 they could return to the front lines.

Abe Harris was executed he joined up when he was only 15 or 16. He changed his from Abraham Bevestien.  He became a member of the 11th Battalion Middlesex Regiment.

His back was injured, and he suffered shock, on Christmas Eve, 1915, but was soon back in the trenches.

Within weeks, he was again traumatised, when a grenade exploded beside him. He told his Medical Officer how he felt, but was sent back to his position. In his shell-shocked confusion, he wandered off. He was arrested, court-martialed and sentenced to death. This under-age boy should have been sent home, but he was executed at dawn on March 20, 1916. He was 16 or 17years old.

Questions


After watching this video and visiting the Roll of Honour Link answer the following questions. (Your answers should be at least a paragraph in length).
  1.  What do you think were the main reasons boys to enlisted?
  2.  What is shell shock?
  3.  Why do you think the boys did not take the opportunity identify how old they were and return home? 
  4.  What did the experience of the war do to these boys and and their families?
    Place your answers in your folio.
You will be assessed on
  1. your spelling and grammar, 
  2. your ability to find information and present that information clearly.
  3. your ability to make an informed opinion about events and people.

Activity 1: Anzac Diversity

ACTIVITY 1: Anzac Diversity 

Keeping Australia British.

Before 1901 Australia  did not exist. Instead there were six colonies, New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, and Western Australia.  These colonies were more like six separate countries all relying on Britain for trade and military protection.  There was very little communication between the colonies, they acted more like rivals. By the 1880's over 70% of the population was Australian born. A strong sense of nationalism began to develop over time. As a result of years of negotiations Australia was formed as a Federation of States into one nation.

However, by 1901, 98% of people in Australia were of British heritage. As a Nation the population wanted to remain a country of white people who lived by British customs. Trade unions were keen to prevent labour competition from Chinese and Pacific Islander migrants who they feared would undercut wages.

One of the first pieces of legislation passed by the new Federal Parliament  was the Immigration Restriction Act. This became known as the White Australia Policy it, along with the Pacific Islander Labourers Act and the Post and Telegraph Act 1901, made it virtually impossible for Asians and Pacific Islanders to migrate to Australia. The Post and Telegraph Act 1901 said that only white people could be employed as contractors (Section 16:1). To learn more about the White Australia Policy visit the link and watch the video.

The Call to Enlist

 

When the First World War began in Europe (1914-1918), Australia supported the British Alliances and volunteers were called for. Men and women from all over Australia were quick to answer the call. Over 420,000 Australians enlisted including nurses, Indigenous Australians, and Australians with British, Asian, Greek and Northern European heritage.


The  Commonwealth Defense Act of 1909, in keeping with the White Australia Policy  prevented anyone not “substantially of European descent” from enlisting. Despite this many said to be unsuitable managed to enlist and serve with distinction and bravery.

 

 

 

Question 1

Look at the propaganda poster above
a. What do you think the poster is trying to say?
b. What type of volunteers are being called to enlist?

 The “substantially of European origin” rule.

Non-European looking Australians were discriminated against, although many tried to enlist. As with the age and health standards over a 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were still accepted for enlistment, apparently because their racial background was overlooked if they had not lived in a tribal environment. Even a few “full-blooded” Indigenous Australians (like Douglas Grant and Frederick Prentice) were accepted because they had been raised in white households. In 1917 the rule was modified to accept men who could satisfy a medical officer that they had “one parent of European origin”.

 Enlistment Standards

 For many volunteers, enlisting was difficult. During the first year of enlistment 33% were rejected. The initial health and fitness standard excluded those who were under-height, under weight or had poor teeth or poor eye-sight. These Enlistment Standards were strictly adhered to until later when volunteer numbers began to fall the standards became less strict.

In  August 1914 were 19–38 years, height of 5ft 6in and chest measurement of 34 inches. These were changed in June 1915 the age range was changed to 18-45 years and the minimum height changed to 5ft 2in, The minimum height was changed again in  April 1917to 5ft.

On enlistment recruits were examined for BC or D tattooed on their skin. These were British army tattoos. BC stood for bad character and D for deserter.





Religion:

Very few articles can be found regarding the role religion played during the war. However, each enlistee was required to list their religion. The four largest faiths in Australia were the Church of England, Presbyterians, Methodists and Catholics.

While sectarianism existed within Australian society, this was not violent. Society tended to coexist with protestants tending to idealize conservative British principles and the Catholics in opposition developing more socially orientated platforms that founded the Labor party.


There is evidence of direct discrimination against Catholics and Jews. This tended to manifest itself in the form of exclusion from certain exclusive clubs.  Inter-faith marriages could produce animosity within families.

 While small in number the Australian Jewish community was well represented among the ANZACs. Fifty-seven gave their lives at Gallipoli. Sir John Monash, for example  came from  Prussian Jewish origins. While he did receive some negative criticism from anti-Semitic journalists he rose to become our most highly regarded General.

While the proportion of those from the Protestant faiths (Church of England, Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans and Congregationalists) out numbered the number of Catholic enlistees it should be noted just as society segregated non-whites once on the battlefield these in race and religion differences meant little.

Australian War Memorial Case Studies

The Australian War Memorial (AWM)site provides a number of case studies  for you to investigate investigate some of the soldiers who would have been considered as being not "substantially of European origin".

Chinese:

Billy Sing
As many as 200 soldiers of Chinese descent born in Australia also enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. Most of the Chinese volunteers were from Victoria. They were born to parents who had come to Australia during the Gold Rush.

The most famous of these was William "Billy" Sing.  Billy Sing was known as "the Assassin" or "the Murderer" he was a sniper at Gallipoli.




Leslie Kew-Ming


Another was Leslie Kew-Ming, he was awarded a Military Medal, and promoted through the ranks to sergeant during his time in the AIF. He also was a skilled footballer, cricketer, and runner. After the War he continued his athletic career. 






While China did not enter the War a great many Chinese enlisted in the Chinese Labor Corps and worked with the British and French armies. Their contribution to the war effort is only now being appreciated.
The Chinese Labour Corps were contracted labourers from China.


Sikhs:

Sikhs fought alongside the ANZACs at Gallipoli. The 14th Sikh Regiment suffering possibly the highest casualty rate of any force during the Gallipoli campaign. Only 4 survived and the regiment was virtually wiped out.

These Sikhs were mostly from India, but research by Australian Sikh Heritage has also identified ten Sikhs from Australia who served as part of the Australian Imperial Force during WWI.



Brochure celebrating 19 Sikh Australians who enlisted in WW1

 Many people moved to Australia during the Gold Rush. Some, as in South Australia, relocated their families because of religious persecution. These immigrants volunteered to fight for their 
adopted country.

In South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales  and Victoria local German communities were viewed with suspicion. Some were sent to camps. They were accused of disloyalty and of spying. Despite this many German Australians showed their allegiance to their country by enlisting.

Joseph Brandebura was one of 969 Russian citizens who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force rather than return to Russia when conscripted into the Russian Army.

Emaniol Salikis was born in Samos, Greece in about 1892. As a young man he immigrated to Australia, settling in Victoria. In 1915 he became a Naturalized British  citizen and enlisted in the Army.

 Question 2: Why do you think these particular non white soldiers were able to enlist when others could not? 

  • Choose one case study and investigate their enlistment and attestation papers. Use these primary documents to support your reasons.

 Place your answers to Question 1 and 2  in your folio. Your answers should be no more than two paragraphs in length for each question. Question 2 is a PowerPoint slide presentation.

You will be assessed on
  1. your spelling and grammar, 
  2. your ability to find information and present that information clearly.
  3. your ability to make an informed opinion based on your research of primary documents.



Welcome to your self paced research component for Australian History Studies.

Welcome to your self paced research component for Australian History Studies. 


As you complete these activities you will develop research and analytical skills as you work your way through each activity. This research will take two weeks to complete and can be done in class time or as home work.

You will need to use your student login to access this unit either at home or in class. If you do not have a class login please speak with your teacher.

There are FOUR activity posts for you to complete. Once you have completed  Activities 1-3 you will have gathered enough information to complete your final project.

Final Assessment (Activity 4 - Tying it all Together : is where you and your group will teach your fellow students in a short (3-5 minute) presentation on a topic of your choosing.

Primary and Secondary Documents.

In each activity you will be directed to research primary documents and secondary documents.
Primary sources are created or written during the time being investigated.

Examples of primary sources include official documents; personal documents, such as diaries and letters; photographs; film and documentaries. 


Secondary sources are accounts about the past that were created after the time being investigated.

Examples of secondary sources include writings of historians, encyclopaedia, documentaries, history textbooks, and websites

This is a primary document - it is a soldiers service record.


What you will need to do in each activity.


  1.  Read the information provided in each activity.
  2.  Follow instructions given
  3.  Collect your questions and research findings (.doc) and place in your History Folder located at Documents/year9/2015/yourname. 
  4. This collection of assessment article is important and is referred to as your Folio.
    • if you have presented a joint assessment each student is to keep copy of the joint project in their folio.
    • it is your responsibility to ensure your folio is not deleted (keep a back up copy).
  • Think about what  topic for your final presentation will be.

Final Assessment 

At the end of your research you will have a resource folio with profiles a person and in a group of 4 you will teach the class about the life of one soldier or nurse.