Gravestones of the fallen.
After the war, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission took on the task of establishing permanent cemeteries and memorials for those who had lost their lives at Gallipoli. Each known soldier was buried with his own headstone. The family of the soldier was given the opportunity to have a personal message engraved on the headstone. Families were given up to 66 characters to fill.
Look in the visuals section of this website under ‘Graves at Gallipoli’. Here you will find a collection of the messages. These can tell us a great deal about the values and attitudes of Australian society at the time.
1. Themes
Your first task is read the inscriptions and create categories of the themes you are finding on the headstones. What themes are reoccurring?
· Create a table.
· Head the table with the themes you have decided on. Some themes you can see include "sacrifice", "family love" and "loyalty to nation". As you read you will come across other themes.
· List the different headstones, by name under the themes.
Now you have your table created, draw some conclusions from your table.
· Write a paragraph outlining your conclusions about the headstones. The following questions will guide you in what to write.
- Is one theme more common?
- What can these inscriptions say about Australian society at the end of World War One?
- Did any inscription stand out to you particularly? Why was this so?
- Did you find any negativity amongst the headstones? Why or why not?
2. Unknown Soldiers
Soldiers that were buried and could not be identified were given the inscription “Unknown Soldier of the war - Known unto God.”
Individually, or as a small group think about this inscription.
- Why do you think such an inscription would have been chosen?
- What messages does this inscription send?
You are to come up with three alternate inscriptions that you think would be appropriate for an unknown soldier’s headstone. Explain why you have chosen each of these inscriptions, including the message behind them and what they tell about the values and attitudes of Australian society at the time.
3. Conclusions
In a paragraph answer the following question:
How similar or different do you think the values and attitudes of most Australian's are today to that of 1915. Explain your answer.
Look in the visuals section of this website under ‘Graves at Gallipoli’. Here you will find a collection of the messages. These can tell us a great deal about the values and attitudes of Australian society at the time.
1. Themes
Your first task is read the inscriptions and create categories of the themes you are finding on the headstones. What themes are reoccurring?
· Create a table.
· Head the table with the themes you have decided on. Some themes you can see include "sacrifice", "family love" and "loyalty to nation". As you read you will come across other themes.
· List the different headstones, by name under the themes.
Now you have your table created, draw some conclusions from your table.
· Write a paragraph outlining your conclusions about the headstones. The following questions will guide you in what to write.
- Is one theme more common?
- What can these inscriptions say about Australian society at the end of World War One?
- Did any inscription stand out to you particularly? Why was this so?
- Did you find any negativity amongst the headstones? Why or why not?
2. Unknown Soldiers
Soldiers that were buried and could not be identified were given the inscription “Unknown Soldier of the war - Known unto God.”
Individually, or as a small group think about this inscription.
- Why do you think such an inscription would have been chosen?
- What messages does this inscription send?
You are to come up with three alternate inscriptions that you think would be appropriate for an unknown soldier’s headstone. Explain why you have chosen each of these inscriptions, including the message behind them and what they tell about the values and attitudes of Australian society at the time.
3. Conclusions
In a paragraph answer the following question:
How similar or different do you think the values and attitudes of most Australian's are today to that of 1915. Explain your answer.