Anzac Day 2016 (part 2)

The RSL Sub Branch at Bayswater held their Anzac Day commemoration on Sunday morning 24 April.

As part of the commemoration wreaths were laid and the Knoxfield Girl Guides took part in the ceremony.

Lest we forget

Photographs taken by Rebecca Court

Anzac Day 2016

Part of the Anzac Day display at Nunawading Library in April 2016.

This year we focussed on some of the events in which Australian forces were involved during 1916.

The information in each of the photo frames was taken from the timeline provided in the Discovering Anzacs website.

Lest we forget

Australian WW I Records Finder

Recently I was alerted to this tool for looking for First World War records in the National Archives of Australia, Australian War Memorial and Commonwealth War Graves databases with one search. The Australian WWI Records Finder was created by Tim Sharratt and can be found at http://wraggelabs.com/ww1-records/.

For this example I typed the name and Service Number of Arthur Andreas Anderson 801 into the search boxes. The results showed the link to his records on National Archives of Australia site and also the link to the record in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database. However this search did not provide links to the records on the Australian War Memorial website although there is actually a record for him on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour.

I checked this site on a couple of different days, sometimes using different names, usually with the same result though for one name the link for the record on the World War I Red Cross files appeared. Sometimes the search timed out.

Tried it on the computer at work using Chrome (used Mozilla Firefox at home) and had the same result.

 This tool has potential but it may be necessary to double check the Australian War Memorial resources if you suspect there should be an entry and you cannot locate one in Australian WWI Records Finder.

Information about creating this tool can be found in a Discontents post.

The Battle of Culloden

When we were exploring Scotland in August 2014 we spent part of one morning at the Culloden Visitor Centre near Inverness. A highlight was a presentation about the battle as well as a dramatic account as to what happenened to rebellion sympathisers. We also went outside to walk where the battle took place. Since our visit, according to the website, more interpretation has been added to the battle site.

The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746 between the Jacobites led by Charles Edward Stuart and the English army led by the Duke of Cumberland. The battle itself only lasted an hour and resulted in the defeat of the Jacobites. After the battle many of the Jacobites were hunted down and killed by the English troops. Meanwhile, Bonnie Prince Charlie escaped to the safety of France.

270 years later and the landscape where the battle took place is being laser scanned  to create a digital model of the battlefield in the hope of tracing remains from the battle. In Britain special events are being held such as a talk at the National Archives about manuscript collections relating to the battle.

BBC History - Battle of Culloden
British Battles - Battle of Culloden
National Trust of Scotland - Culloden