Hello Kyt, As an Aussie, I must agree with this story. I put this down to a failure of our education in schools. I can remember very little of the war being taught when I was in school in 1945-1955. The government also has something to answer for because they locked up this information in their files.(Not sure of period before it could be released.) Sydney did come under attack during the war with mini subs in the harbour and a sub also put a couple of rounds into a suburb. John
I'd have to agree as well. Have seen some shorts for the film but not enough to comment on the Darwin attack footage. Have some minor concerns though!
I don't blame the 18-34 year olds! Teachers did not want the children to be educated about war. Most of them would not have known much anyway. My dad did not speak of the war that much except for the latter years of his life. My God it was like pulling teeth to keep him on the subject. My education was from war movie's and then up to me to decipher what was truth and what was Hollywood. The "world at war" series should be on the History syllabus in all schools (even though there is not much about Australia). "Beyond Kokoda" is a great show and should also be included. I hope you are able to see it in the UK etc.
Ironic? Last night I watched a programme called My Family at War which followed Kirsty Wark and Rolf Harris in their respective searches for the histories of their relative's service in WW1. For Kirsty it was a Great Uncle, who survived the full four years of the war, only to die of the Spanish Flu a couple of weeks adter the end of the war. Rolf's father and uncle joined the Australian army, though theu had only arrived from Cardiff two years earlier. His uncle lied about his age and was based in the UK for two years, arriving on the front in 1918, and dying of wounds in August 1918 (being injured in the same battle ashis brother who was invalided home - the third time he had been wounded). All very sad and emotional. Now the irony. Whereas in Australia, as the above story suggests, the young are ignorant of the war, in France there is a school which still teaches its pupils about the sacrifices made by the Australians (in site of the very same battle fied that Rolf's father and uncle were injured) (the article below is from April 2008: Villers-Bretonneux remembers decisive battle 90 years on - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The ANZAC ceremony this year at Villers-Bretonneux certainly was a big deal. Not being a student of WWI and, of course, not being taught about it at school (don't recall being taught Gallipoli either but two years of my education was in the US), I was only vaguely aware of the battle before the media got hold of the 90th anniversary and worked up the hype. Very moved by the locals there and never ceased to be amazed at that school.
I think a lot now depends on the teachers and what war they are interested in. WW1 now seems to be the popular one as they watched the last of the diggers die of old age.
I agree, John, and I see the same with Wartime magazine produced by the AWM. Rightly so in some respects given the 90th anniversary but while the popular focus is very much on WWI, we continue to lose our links to WWII as the veterans' number thin. Now is our last chance to get first-hand accounts.
We must remember that the clock is ticking. We have at best about 20 years for people to try and find out about the WW2 from their relations. History only reveals a couple of opinions of what happened and it is the soldiers who fought the battles know the truth re cock ups or successes and also the humour of their mates.
There was a touching letter in yesterday's Daily Express about a school in a village in the midlands which gives each child a poppy bearing the name of a local resident who has been killed in conflict. Each child lays their poppy at the local monument in turn as the roll of honour is read and then they commence the two minutes silence. I'm sure that to identify individuals who have made the sacrifice must make it more meaningful to the children. There has also been an excellent series of programs on BBC which have, to me, been both informative and very poignant.
