Marko Veckov

 Australians at War Major Project Student’s Name Class Information Date The purpose of this paper is to describe one period of Australia’s, mostly military, history with an emphasis on its ‘monuments of war’. The paper will focus on those, who fought and died on the battlefields of Europe and North Africa, during First World War. For this purpose, one single war memorial has been chosen, Roll of Honors, and a sample using random sampling was drawn from a population of those whose names are on the memorial. These are soldiers and officers, as well as supportive military staff, who lost their lives in those four years and whose burial sites lay in Europe and North Africa. There are several major burial grounds in continental Europe, based on the sample, and these are in Turkey, Belgium and France. Based on the sample, those who died in North Africa and United Kingdom, died of illness, while others died in battle. All the names have been included in the Rolls of Honor database, along with additional information for every soldier. Overview The subject, which memorials symbolize, has been old as the history itself, despite these monuments being of more recent period. From Ancient Rome and celebration of its military victories through monuments, sculptures and pieces of architecture, through medieval period and 19th century, until modern times, various symbols of victory and loss have been used. Whether it’s to signify, mere servant to the empire as in the case of Nelson or the emperor himself as in the case of Napoleon, war monuments were undoubtably sending strong message to the people. Roots of the modern memorials commemorating common soldiers can be traced to mid-nineteenth century England and tribute to those who died during war with Russia from-. In United States, similar commemoration practice was under way after first truly democratic war, American Civil War. The mission of architects of monuments dedicated to sacrifices of Australian and other soldiers of the Empire, who died on battlefields during First World War, was equally challenging and no less spiritual. The Imperial War Graves Commission had taken on the immense task of giving individual commemoration to everybody-the official tally was more than a million-who had died in the service of the empire.1 [ CITATION Ken08 \l 1033 ] Commission constructed several hundred monuments at Gallipoli, as well as in Belgium and Northern France, but the devastation of battles at Some and Passchendaele left many bodies unrecoverable. The Commission’s most important task was to install commemoration for every individual soldier, who died, and this practice was new in comparison to the 19th century. It was agreed that every dead soldier has tombstone of equal size, with the name carved on it, regardless of his rank or religion. The unfortunate events during the conflict left Australian soldiers scattered across Europe and some of the soldiers died of illness or wounds in United Kingdom or in Northern Africa, for instance. In those days, several local monuments commemorating fallen soldiers during this conflict were unveiled, most notable being Rockdale Municipal Honor Roll. On Monday, 9 October 1916, the first board (left-hand side of the Foyer) was officially unveiled. 2[ CITATION Pan15 \l 1033 ] Other municipalities, like the one of Bexley, followed in the same vein several years later. Rolls of Honor Memorial used in this paper consists of database entries for every individual soldier, that are gathered immediately after his death or during conflict. Further researchers done in the latter period were used for any possible information updates. The main condition for a soldier to be included in this list was that he served during that exact period in the Australian Armed Forces and that he died as a result of that service. Methodology Sampling method used in this paper is that of probable nature. Probability sampling is defined as having the “distinguishing characteristic that each unit in the population has a known, non-zero chance of being included in the sample.” 3[ CITATION IIl15 \l 1033 ] The most basic of several types of probability sampling is simple random sampling method. With this method each unit is selected randomly and then removed from further selection process. At each step, an item is selected from S with equal probability and then is removed from S.4[ CITATION Xia13 \l 1033 ] This process is also known as draw by draw algorithm. For the purpose of the paper, as stated above, we used Roll of Honor database, which consists of 61,581 names of soldiers, who died during WW1. The database is based on Roll of Honor cards that are used to form physical Roll of Honor that is situated in the city of Canberra. The data revealed information regarding deceased’s service as well as his death and occasions surrounding it. However, not all the information can be retrieved from initial or additional research and there are blanks, regarding in some cases cause of death or unit number or similar information. We consulted other reliable sources, like Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, but very few new information can be gathered from it and that are not already mentioned. Memorialisation The monument itself is situated in the capital city of Canberra. Once you enter it, you will notice two medieval lions from each side, which were contributed to the memorial by city of Ypres in 1936. They were initially part of Memorial at Ypres and were damaged during WW1. By passing 102,000 carved names of fallen soldiers, during all conflicts in which Australian Armed Forces participated, you enter copper-clad dome of Hall of Memory. National monuments of this size and proportion and who commemorate Great War conflict are rare throughout the world. The installment of this monument and its usage was viewed as communal obligation in Australia. The founding vision, started in 1917, was finalized in 1941 and its result is said to celebrate the memory of all Australians who gave their lives in war conflicts. Its position on the top of Anzac parade proves its historical significance, the one which is confirmed every year through events like Anzac Day or Remembrance Day. Commemorative services on Remembrance Day each year play a significant role in community’s services. Each Year on this day Australians observe one minute’s silence at 11am, in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts. 5[ CITATION www20 \l 1033 ] It is a significant event that not only hosts the public, but dignitaries and highest diplomats, also. Service records in the community Based on our sample, soldiers who served in WW1 were between 19 and 40 years of age. Database used does not tell us their exact religion and all of them, either being Christians, Muslims or Jewish are included. Most of the soldiers, based on the sample, tend to serve at Infantry battalions. Almost 80% soldiers died as a result of direct action, according to the sample, others died of wounds or illness and there are those whose cause of death is unknown. Based on the sample, and due to insufficient data, it is not possible to tell about any ‘prisoner of war’ status. At the start of the war in Europe, Australia had men military trained for domestic, but not for overseas military service. Voluntary practice was viewed as insufficient and solution was tried in conscription, as it was imposed for services within the Commonwealth, and referendum was suggested for this matter. Despite the referendum’s negative results on behalf of the conscription, some 40% of eligible white Australians joined the Armed Forces. By October 1915 the experience of Gallipoli and the sinking of Lusitania confirmed the intensity and likely long duration of the war. 6 [ CITATION Pet13 \l 1033 ] Significant proportion of those enlisted were Irish Catholics and workers. The first one initially opposed the referendum, by giving strong reason of mistreatment by the Crown at home. It is not possible to say more on the enlistment patterns, based on this sample, regarding social, religious or economic status of the enlisted. The data regarding the unit rank is available and most of the servicemen were privates, some of them troopers in a cavalry and officers, while there were those serving in supportive units, like engineers. They were enlisted, as stated above, for overseas service and we can conclude, based on the sample, that it mostly happened in Europe and Northern Africa. Enlisted soldiers came from all six states, from smaller cities like Grafton in New South Wales, to the suburbs of larger cities like Melbourne or Sydney. Discussion Memorials like this one tell the story about individual community’s contribution to resolve of the armed conflict through those who sacrificed their lives. It tells the numerous untold stories about individual actions, wider operations of battalions, divisions and groups on the overseas battlefields. The number of visitors each year is a reliable indicator of its importance for collective memory and for future generations chance of walking the path of peace. Just like the soldiers who struggled on the battlefields of Gallipoli and Some, the Memorial has its own story of more than two decades struggle until its final opening. When it was finally opened, just a few months after Germany’s invasion of Poland it had a large significance, not just for ordinary visitors, but for those who survived the conflict. Even, if there were not any on the opening ceremony. Today, it is not just relevant for their kin, but for others, as well, no matter what community they belong to. The sole proposition of the monument consisting of all the names of those killed during WW1 and other conflicts and the tale of its installment relates to struggle for appropriate commemoration of the victims. Our findings through usage of monuments database couldn’t tell us more about their background, like their martial or religious status, but they are treated similarly through embodiment of their struggle. Just like it was stated by Inglis, when discussing burial grounds where their remains originally lay, every single soldier has his name carved on a wall for years to come. Also, our research couldn’t tell us more about exact enlistment patterns. Whether these soldiers picked randomly, volunteered or were enlisted through obligatory service. The atmosphere in the Australian society during those years can be sensed through above mentioned extract of appropriate literature. It is of far greater importance that their sacrifice was treated equal, either on the burial sites or on this site, no matter of their background or unit rank. Literary sources tell us that this wasn’t only example of paid tributes. The manner, in which local municipalities marked their fallen members death resembles that of memorial in Canberra. There, side by side, are the carved names, of officers and privates, of troopers and engineers, younger or older, with equal value to a broader community. Paid service, therefore in both cases, equalize the individual contributions of those who served and is the best way in which the communities could repay them for their service. Conclusion Based on the simple random sampling technique we compiled the sample of 50 names of Australian soldiers, who fought and died during WW1. The men’s age was between 19 and 40 years of age, and those who died in mainland Europe, in most cases died as a result of military combat. The sample provides us with details of their service, regarding their unit, rank and number, but has its limitations in providing information about their background. The only usable information is their initial location of residence, from which we can conclude that both small city residents were enlisted, as well as larger cities inhabitants, like Perth. Their names are marked on a memory wall at Canberra’s War memorial monument. Based on the secondary literary source, similar practice was done before the opening of this complex on local level. According to our findings, soldiers were buried on sites in Europe and practice of those days was that they are buried side by side, no matter of their status. For every soldier, according to Inglis and secondary source, there was grave mark on original site and later engravings of his name, on local monuments, as well as on composite site in Canberra. Bibliography Australian War Memorial. n.d. Remembrance Day. Accessed January 13, 2020. https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/remembrance-day. Diamadis, Panayiotis. 2015. "Personal experience, public memory: Rockdale's monuments to military service." Etikan, IIlker, Sulaiman Abubakar Musa, and Rukayya Sunusi Alkassim. 2015. "Comparison of Conveniance Sampling and Purposive Sampling." American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics. Inglis, Ken, and Jan Brazier. 2008. Sacred Places:War Memorials in the Australian Landscape. Melbourne. Karsten, Peter. 2013. Recruting, Drafting and Enlisting: Two Sides of the Raising of Military Forces. Routledge. Meng, Xiangrui. 2013. Scalable Simple Random Sampling and Stratified Sampling. LinkedIn Corporation.