Researching a Soldier
Three hundred and twenty-four thousand Australian soldiers served overseas during World War One. Your task is to learn about the experiences of ONE of these soldiers and to imagine yourself as him. Do this by researching primary and secondary sources about his involvement in the war and by taking his persona on in a number of tasks.
Work through a number of steps to create a “Personal File” about your soldier.
When complete this file will include:
1. A personal background of the soldier
2. A map of where he travelled and served during World War One
3. A timeline of his involvement in the war
4. Two diary entries from him while serving in the war
5. One letter home from him, back to his family in Australia.
The requirements for each task are clearly explained below.
Your work must be presented in a display folder or file.
Step One
Choose an Australian Soldier, who served at Gallipoli to investigate.
Choose:
· a family member. Ask your parents or grandparents for any information of who in your family may have been involved in World War One.
· a friends family members that was involved in the war
· a soldier who had the same name as you
· a soldier you have read about
· a soldier you have found named on a war memorial.
· A soldier whose name appears in a photograph or personal record in this website.
Step Two
Go to the following website. This site will be your main source of information.
http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/using/search/
First click on "search as a guest". This will open up a new search page and then choose "name search" from the top menu. Search for your chosen soldier under the “Name Search” link. You will need to ensure your chosen soldier has their documentation available for viewing online. If there is little information provided you will need to choose another soldier.
When you have found your individual you will be able to read the primary source documents of his involvement in the war: papers such as enlistment papers, wills, medical records, letters, statement of service and other documents.
You will need to read these documents very carefully, as they contain a wealth of information, yet can be difficult to decipher. Your teacher may need to assist with deciphering hand-writing.
You will be required to print off and include in your file as an appendix the Enlistment papers and Statement of Service relating to your soldier.
Step Three – Personal Background
The first piece to be completed for your file is the Personal Background of your soldier.
Your Personal Background sheet will need to include the following:
· Full name
· Date of birth
· Place of birth (including map showing location)
· Any parent, sibling, spouse or children information
· Residence at time of enlistment (including a map)
· Occupation
· Date of enlistment
· Physical appearance (a photo if available)
· And any other information you can find out about this individual before their involvement in the war.
Step Four - Timeline and map of involvement in WW1
Complete a timeline of the involvement of your soldier in the war, from the date of enlistment to the date of returning home to Australia, or sadly, in some cases, the date of death.
The timeline needs:
· to be in chronological order
· to be scaled
· to include full dates, names of places and a brief description of each event
· to include dates ranks were received or injuries sustained.
· for each battle the individual was involved in, explanatory notes as to which nations were involved in this battle, why it was being fought and the outcome.
· pictures of the places travelled to and events involved in. Pictures relating to Gallipoli can be obtained from this application.
Together with the timeline produce a map.
This map will
· locate the places your soldier visited during the war
· show the route of travel to these places during the war.
Don’t forget the conventions of mapping (BOLTSS) and to provide detailed labels for each location marked on the map.
Ensure that you find out the route soldiers travelled to arrive at various places, for example what route was taken by ship from Australia to Egypt?
Step Five – Diary entries
Through reading the online documentation you will be able to find out where your soldier served. You will then need to conduct further research into the places your soldier served at and the battles in which he was involved. Your research will help you gather information about conditions faced and what life on the front was like.
After conducting the necessary research you are to put yourself into the shoes of your soldier and write a minimum of two diary entries from Gallipoli.
1. The first entry must refer to what you experienced while involved in a battle.
2. The second entry is to refer to life during times of quiet.
Within the diary entries you will need to describe
· the environment around you
· what you were experiencing
· what you see, hear, smell
· your fears, your hopes and your range of emotions
· how you lived, what you ate, your clothing, your possessions.
Remember a diary is not intended to be read by others. Try to imagine what this person would be feeling in some horrific situations and make your entries as descriptive and personal as possible.
Each diary entry is to be a minimum of 250 words in length.
Step Six – Letter to Home
Quite different to a diary entry, a letter home is written for an intended audience.
Your next task is to write a letter to your family at home. Describe what you are doing, what daily life is like, the places where you have been and what you have seen, friendships you have made and your thoughts on Australia’s involvement in the war. You may have been in a specific battle, been promoted or received a special recognition to write home about.
· The events you write about in your letter must be different to those written about in your diary entries.
· Include in your letter some photographs showing the places where you have been. These may be obtained from this application, or from the AWM website.
· Your letter needs to be a minimum of 300 words long.
Remember your aim in this task is to bring World War One to life through ONE soldier’s experience.
Immerse yourself in his life and you will learn a great deal about human experiences then and how the same feelings are still part of some people's daily lives now.
The following links at the Australian War Memorial will also be helpful in your search.
http://www.awm.gov.au/find/index.asp
Do a name search for extra information about your individual at the Australian War Memorial.
http://www.awm.gov.au/units/ww1.asp
When you know the unit the individual served in you can go to the above link to find information about that unit’s involvement in the war.
http://www.awm.gov.au/diaries/ww1/index.asp
Each unit was required to keep an official war diary. Go to this link to find the diary for the unit your individual served in. Generally you will click in Class 23, Infantry, however your soldier may have been in a different category, such as light horse to signals. You will need to click one of these links to find the battalion.
http://www.awm.gov.au/research/people/wounded_and_missing/
Search Red Cross records for your individual, for example if they were wounded or killed in war.
http://www.awm.gov.au/search/collections/
Search AWM collections for photographs of particular soldiers or places. Be sure to highlight the First World War in the drop down box.
Work through a number of steps to create a “Personal File” about your soldier.
When complete this file will include:
1. A personal background of the soldier
2. A map of where he travelled and served during World War One
3. A timeline of his involvement in the war
4. Two diary entries from him while serving in the war
5. One letter home from him, back to his family in Australia.
The requirements for each task are clearly explained below.
Your work must be presented in a display folder or file.
Step One
Choose an Australian Soldier, who served at Gallipoli to investigate.
Choose:
· a family member. Ask your parents or grandparents for any information of who in your family may have been involved in World War One.
· a friends family members that was involved in the war
· a soldier who had the same name as you
· a soldier you have read about
· a soldier you have found named on a war memorial.
· A soldier whose name appears in a photograph or personal record in this website.
Step Two
Go to the following website. This site will be your main source of information.
http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/using/search/
First click on "search as a guest". This will open up a new search page and then choose "name search" from the top menu. Search for your chosen soldier under the “Name Search” link. You will need to ensure your chosen soldier has their documentation available for viewing online. If there is little information provided you will need to choose another soldier.
When you have found your individual you will be able to read the primary source documents of his involvement in the war: papers such as enlistment papers, wills, medical records, letters, statement of service and other documents.
You will need to read these documents very carefully, as they contain a wealth of information, yet can be difficult to decipher. Your teacher may need to assist with deciphering hand-writing.
You will be required to print off and include in your file as an appendix the Enlistment papers and Statement of Service relating to your soldier.
Step Three – Personal Background
The first piece to be completed for your file is the Personal Background of your soldier.
Your Personal Background sheet will need to include the following:
· Full name
· Date of birth
· Place of birth (including map showing location)
· Any parent, sibling, spouse or children information
· Residence at time of enlistment (including a map)
· Occupation
· Date of enlistment
· Physical appearance (a photo if available)
· And any other information you can find out about this individual before their involvement in the war.
Step Four - Timeline and map of involvement in WW1
Complete a timeline of the involvement of your soldier in the war, from the date of enlistment to the date of returning home to Australia, or sadly, in some cases, the date of death.
The timeline needs:
· to be in chronological order
· to be scaled
· to include full dates, names of places and a brief description of each event
· to include dates ranks were received or injuries sustained.
· for each battle the individual was involved in, explanatory notes as to which nations were involved in this battle, why it was being fought and the outcome.
· pictures of the places travelled to and events involved in. Pictures relating to Gallipoli can be obtained from this application.
Together with the timeline produce a map.
This map will
· locate the places your soldier visited during the war
· show the route of travel to these places during the war.
Don’t forget the conventions of mapping (BOLTSS) and to provide detailed labels for each location marked on the map.
Ensure that you find out the route soldiers travelled to arrive at various places, for example what route was taken by ship from Australia to Egypt?
Step Five – Diary entries
Through reading the online documentation you will be able to find out where your soldier served. You will then need to conduct further research into the places your soldier served at and the battles in which he was involved. Your research will help you gather information about conditions faced and what life on the front was like.
After conducting the necessary research you are to put yourself into the shoes of your soldier and write a minimum of two diary entries from Gallipoli.
1. The first entry must refer to what you experienced while involved in a battle.
2. The second entry is to refer to life during times of quiet.
Within the diary entries you will need to describe
· the environment around you
· what you were experiencing
· what you see, hear, smell
· your fears, your hopes and your range of emotions
· how you lived, what you ate, your clothing, your possessions.
Remember a diary is not intended to be read by others. Try to imagine what this person would be feeling in some horrific situations and make your entries as descriptive and personal as possible.
Each diary entry is to be a minimum of 250 words in length.
Step Six – Letter to Home
Quite different to a diary entry, a letter home is written for an intended audience.
Your next task is to write a letter to your family at home. Describe what you are doing, what daily life is like, the places where you have been and what you have seen, friendships you have made and your thoughts on Australia’s involvement in the war. You may have been in a specific battle, been promoted or received a special recognition to write home about.
· The events you write about in your letter must be different to those written about in your diary entries.
· Include in your letter some photographs showing the places where you have been. These may be obtained from this application, or from the AWM website.
· Your letter needs to be a minimum of 300 words long.
Remember your aim in this task is to bring World War One to life through ONE soldier’s experience.
Immerse yourself in his life and you will learn a great deal about human experiences then and how the same feelings are still part of some people's daily lives now.
The following links at the Australian War Memorial will also be helpful in your search.
http://www.awm.gov.au/find/index.asp
Do a name search for extra information about your individual at the Australian War Memorial.
http://www.awm.gov.au/units/ww1.asp
When you know the unit the individual served in you can go to the above link to find information about that unit’s involvement in the war.
http://www.awm.gov.au/diaries/ww1/index.asp
Each unit was required to keep an official war diary. Go to this link to find the diary for the unit your individual served in. Generally you will click in Class 23, Infantry, however your soldier may have been in a different category, such as light horse to signals. You will need to click one of these links to find the battalion.
http://www.awm.gov.au/research/people/wounded_and_missing/
Search Red Cross records for your individual, for example if they were wounded or killed in war.
http://www.awm.gov.au/search/collections/
Search AWM collections for photographs of particular soldiers or places. Be sure to highlight the First World War in the drop down box.
