List of Australian diarists of World War I explained

This is a list of Australian diarists of World War I including Australian servicemen and women, other Australians associated with the armed forces, and those who remained in Australia.

Personal diaries

Many soldiers chose to keep a diary to document their personal experiences during the conflict.^[1] Regulations forbade the practice of individual soldiers keeping diaries in front line positions, yet the practice was apparently not uncommon.^[2] Individual diaries were officially forbidden because their capture by the enemy could yield valuable intelligence regarding unit identification, troop movements, etc.^[3] Individual diaries had to be portable and easily hidden. Many were approximately 9.5×, which made them small enough to fit in a chest pocket.^[4] Next of kin were often listed.^[4] While the original diaries were handwritten, many soldiers later rewrote or typed their diary with some also publishing their work. Most diaries were kept by the soldier or their family. Military units were required to keep official records,^[5] which are also referred to as War Diaries.^[6] These records cover operations and planning, administration, and personnel.^[6] They were updated on a daily basis.^[7] These records are now at the Australian War Memorial.^[8]

Collecting the diaries

Many diaries were retained by the soldier or their family, however some of the surviving diaries are held in the collections of Australian cultural institutions including the Australian War Memorial,^[9] National Archives of Australia,^[10] State Library of New South Wales,^[11] State Library of Queensland,^[12] State Library of South Australia,^[13] and State Library of Victoria.^[14] The Australian War Memorial and the State Library of New South Wales were the first in Australia to attempt to collect war diaries on a large scale.^[15] The urge to collect these documents reflected contemporary understandings of history and research, which emphasised the role of primary sources and saw history as a science instead of an art.^[15] While the Library prioritised original documents over copies,^[15] the Memorial instead collected both original documents and copies.^[15]

William Ifould, Principal Librarian at the Public Library of New South Wales (later State Library of New South Wales),^[16] led a collecting drive which began within six months of the conclusion of the war.^[15] Ifould arranged for advertisements in newspapers across Australia offering to buy relevant papers for the Library,^{[17] [18] [19]} and also reached out to soldiers through the Returned Soldiers' Association of New South Wales.^[15] Efforts focused on diaries documenting training and active service, with accounts recorded "at the moment" or as soon after as possible considered the most useful.^[15]

The Memorial aimed to document the whole of Australia's war experience, initially focusing on published sources and the official records of the war.^[15] The Memorial began collecting personal documents including diaries in 1927.^[15] It was Arthur Bazley, historian Charles Bean's assistant at the Memorial, who suggested using the addresses recorded in the Roll of Honour Circulars to contact next-of-kin (and, later, servicemen and women directly^[15]) to ask for diaries and personal papers to be donated.^[15] John Treloar, Director of the Memorial, publicised the project and encouraged donations.^[15]

In total, 416,809 Australians enlisted for service.^[20] Only 500 diaries were collected by the Library, despite wide advertising, while approximately one in four soldiers or families contacted by the Memorial donated material.^[15]

List of diarists

• List of Australian diarists of World War I (A-G)
• List of Australian diarists of World War I (H-N)
• List of Australian diarists of World War I (O-Z)

See also

• Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
• Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force
• First Australian Imperial Force
• Imperial War Museum – holds a collection of diaries by Australians^[21]
• Military history of Australia during World War I
• World War I in literature

Further reading

• Book: Barwick, Archie. In great spirits : the WWI diary of Archie Barwick. HarperCollins Publishers. 2013. 9780732297183.
• Book: Bean, C.E.W.. Official history of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Angus & Robertson. 1921.
• Book: Carlyon, Les. Gallipoli. Pan Macmillan. 2010. 9780330426039.
• Book: Carylon, Les. The Great War. Pan Macmillan. 2006. 9781405037617.
• Book: Cull, William Ambrose. At all costs. Australasian Authors' Agency. 1919.
• Book: Evans, Eric S.. So far from home : the remarkable diaries of Eric Evans, an Australian soldier during World War I. Kangaroo Press. 2002. 9780731810680.
• Book: Fussell, Paul. The Great War and Modern Memory. Oxford University Press. 2000. 9780195021714.
• Book: Gammage, Bill. The Broken Years: Australian Soldiers in the Great War. Australian National University Press. 1974. 9780708102381.
• Book: What did you do in the great war, dad! : the diary of sapper Arthur Hadfield, 25 October 1916 to 26 August 1919. Arthur. Hadfield. Ian L.. McAndrew. I. McAndrew. 1996. 9780646294490.
• Book: Kerr, Greg. Private wars : personal records of the Anzacs in the Great War. Oxford University Press. 2000. 9780195507997.
• Book: King, Jonathan. Gallipoli diaries : the Anzacs' own story day by day. Simon & Schuster. 2010. 9780731813551.
• Book: King, Jonathan. The Western Front diaries : the ANZACs' own story, battle by battle. Simon & Schuster. 2010. 9780731814398.
• Book: War diaries of a veterinary sergeant : 20th October 1915–10th October 1919. Robert Jackson. Noble. James C.. Noble. James C. Noble. 2004 . 9780646435084.
• Book: Winter, Denis. Death's Men: Soldiers of the Great War. Penguin Books. 1988.

External links

• Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front 1914–1915 (anonymous)
• Europeana 1914–1918
• Gallipoli and the Anzacs
• Lives of the First World War – a project of the Imperial War Museum
• Transcript of the diary of John Evan Adlard
• Letters & diaries from World War I - State Library of Victoria
• Letters, diaries, etc. from World War I - State Library of Western Australia
• Diary and letter collections | World War One - State Library of New South Wales

Notes and References

1. Web site: Memoirs & Diaries – Introduction. First World War. 17 December 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140312225226/http://www.firstworldwar.com/diaries/. 12 March 2014. dmy-all.
2. http://www.express.co.uk/news/world-war-1/450563/Revealed-at-last-secret-diary-of-hell-in-trenches Express.co.uk article
3. https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/bookauth/battle/fussell.htm The Atlantic article
4. Web site: Diary and letter collections. World War I Research Guide. State Library of NSW. 18 December 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131216101453/http://guides.sl.nsw.gov.au/content.php?pid=489033&sid=4095059. 16 December 2013. dmy-all.
5. Web site: Research Centre collections. Australian War Memorial. 17 December 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131111070659/http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/research/. 11 November 2013. dmy-all.
6. Web site: First World War (1914–1918). Australian War Memorial. 17 December 2013.
7. Web site: First World War Diaries Description. Australian War Memorial. 17 December 2013.
8. Web site: War Diaries. Australian War Memorial. 19 January 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20120904223705/https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/records/war_diaries/. 4 September 2012. dmy-all.
9. Web site: Research Centre collections. Australian War Memorial. 26 November 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131111070659/http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/research/. 11 November 2013. dmy-all.
10. Web site: Boer War to Vietnam. National Archives of Australia. 26 November 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131021192831/http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/explore/defence/conflicts.aspx. 21 October 2013. dmy-all.
11. Web site: Can you tell us more about our WWI diaries?. State Library of NSW. 26 November 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131115021401/http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/about/projects/wwi/index.html. 15 November 2013. dmy-all.
12. Web site: QUEENSLAND'S WORLD WAR 1 CENTENARY BLOG. State Library of Queensland. 10 December 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131116132840/http://blogs.slq.qld.gov.au/ww1/2013/11/10/queenslands-world-war-1-centenary-blog/. 16 November 2013. dmy-all.
13. Web site: Personal Experiences. Military Records. State Library of South Australia. 5 December 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140313001329/http://guides.slsa.sa.gov.au/content.php?pid=76180&sid=564150. 13 March 2014. dmy-all.
14. Web site: Letters & diaries. State Library of Victoria. 26 November 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140214005438/http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/australia-wwi/abroad-wwi/letters-diaries. 14 February 2014. dmy-all.
15. Conde. Anne-Marie. Capturing the records of war: collecting at the Mitchell Library and the Australian War Memorial. Australian Historical Studies. April 2005. 37. 125. 134–152. 10.1080/10314610508682915 . 144456137 . 12 December 2013.
16. Web site: Arnot. Jean F.. Ifould, William Herbert (1877–1969). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. 12 December 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20130424064424/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/ifould-william-herbert-6787. 24 April 2013. dmy-all.
17. News: Advertising. . . Adelaide . 22 March 1919 . 12 December 2013 . 8 . National Library of Australia.
18. News: Advertising. . . Perth, WA . 17 January 1919 . 12 December 2013 . 39 . National Library of Australia.
19. News: Advertising. . . NSW . 14 February 1919 . 12 December 2013 . 5 . National Library of Australia.
20. Web site: Enlistment statistics and standards, First World War. Australian War Memorial. 15 January 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20161013201133/https://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/enlistment/ww1/. 13 October 2016. dmy-all.
21. Web site: Documents. Imperial War Museum. 3 December 2013. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131007054102/http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections-research/about/documents. 7 October 2013. dmy-all.