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Hence the CWGC site is a valuable source of information about a soldier
and his ultimate fate.
In the course of the war many soldiers were lost and that is why the
finding of Australian bodies at Fromelles was so important.
Further Research
What is the story behind the “Lost Soldiers of
Fromelles”?
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
The War Memorial contains a variety of quality information sources
ranging from biographical information about soldiers to collections like
photographs, military technology, maps, war diaries and much more.
We will look at some of the items with an aim of assisting researchers to
complete their soldier profiles.
Central to the Memorial’s existence is the desire to commemorate
soldiers’ ultimate sacrifice in wartime.This thematic approach was
encouraged by Charles Bean, the journalist elected by his peers to cover
Australians involvement in the War. Over the course of the Gallipoli
campaign Bean had come to the conclusion that the Gallipoli campaign
had been a terrible mistake from the beginning, and if it continued it
would mean that Australians would suffer even greater losses from
disease and battle casualties.
Bean had gone ashore with the first ANZAC troops, had been wounded
during the campaign, and lived with the ANZACs during the months of
the campaign. Despite censorship from British command as evidenced
and dramatised in the television series
Deadline Gallipoli
, Bean was able
to produce a prolific amount of work on the Gallipoli Campaign and
World War 1. When he returned to Australia his diligent and empathetic
work ensured the creation of the Australian War Memorial as the
embodiment of the suffering of Australian soldiers in wartime and the
unjustness of war.
Therefore, it is appropriate that the first database of information we look
at is the Roll of Honour that is in physical, and database, form at the
Australian War Memorial. The Roll of Honour lists all soldiers, sailors
and airforce personnel who died as a result of fighting for Australian
forces in war. It contains personal particulars, unit, and the date of death.
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