Newsletter No. 12 - Blue Mountains Association of Cultural Heritage ...

Contents.........HERITAGENovember-December2010*1 State Governor opensnew wing at Hobby’sReach*1 Council’s HeritageReview*2 We remember thosewho were slaugthered inbattles planned by stupidgenerals*3 ‘Only in Australia canmen read their name on awar memorial’*4 The Light HorseInterchange*4 Woodford Academystudent survivedBeersheba charge*5 ‘The rainy season hasbegun and the cold cutsus through’*7 Their names are on thehonour roll at GlenbrookPrimary School*8 A Springwood soldierlaid to rest at Fromelles 94years later*9 One man’sdedication*10 Two Woodfordbrothers killed*11 More than just an oldbuilding*13 The Cambodianexhibition -- Hurry, Hurry,Hurry, No time to lose*15 Welcome to newmember soon to celebrate25 years existence*15 Obituary - HughBickford*16 Doug Knowles electedto lead GlenbrookHistorical Society*16 History of Lawson Hallshould not be ignored*17 Honorary life membershipfor two at Mt Wilson*17 Professsor Reynoldstakes leave*18 Glen Davis*18 Book launched at Irishgaol*19 Elevating theempancipistFrom the president’s pen......We remember those whowere slaughtered in battlesplanned by stupid generalsWar is abhorrent to most decenthuman beings. Down through the agesthere has always been and mostprobably always will be war.There should never be any futureattempts to glorify war.However, we must honour those whomade the supreme sacrifice on thebattlefields, often in foreign lands.We must also respect the wishes ofthose loved ones left behind and theirdescendants who may wish torecognise these heroes and ordinarysoldiers with Remembrance services,marches, wreath laying ceremoniesand other activities on special days.This edition of HERITAGE featuresarticles about World War 1.These articles are not so much aboutthe battlefields, but rather about localmen who served – some came backand others now lay buried in foreignfields.These articles are published near toRemembrance Day observed aroundthe world by those nations whoparticipated in this horrific conflict.Traditionally these services areconducted on the 11 th hour, of the 11 thmonth of the year, the Armistice as itwas then known having been signed atthat time in 1918.These well researched stories alsotouch on the anguish of those leftbehind – mothers, wives and girlfriends; the emotions– the pain ofseparation, the grief of loss and thegreat joy of reunion.They touch on the discovery of themass grave, pinpointed through theresearch of a Victorian school teacher,Lambis Englezos.The work of Englezos an amateurhistorian, was confirmed in 2008 by ateam of archaeologists led by Dr TonyPollard of Glasgow University.The excavation would later provide avivid and startling glimpse into thehorror of World War 1 as the bodieshad been preserved in the sameposition they were thrown into themass grave.World War 1 was a military conflictcentered on Europe that began in thesummer of 1914. The fighting endedin late 1918.More than 70 million militarypersonnel, including 60 millionEuropeans, were mobilised in one ofthe largest wars in history.More than 9 million combatants werekilled, due largely to greattechnological advances in firepowerwithout corresponding ones inmobility.A generation of innocent young men,their heads full of high abstractionslike Honour, Glory and Country, wentoff to war to make the world safe fordemocracy.They were slaughtered in stupidbattles planned by stupid generals atthe behest of egotistical politicians.Those who survived were shocked,disillusioned and embittered by theirwar experiences, and saw that theirreal enemies were not the Germans,but the old men at home who had liedto them.They rejected the values of thesociety that had sent them to war, andin doing so separated their owngeneration from the past and fromtheir cultural inheritance.Unlike many of its Allies, in World War1, Australia did not conscript itssoldiers to fight in the Great War - allAustralian soldiers were volunteers.It was to be the war to end all wars.John Leary, OAMPresident, Blue MountainsAssociation of Cultural HeritageOrganisations Inc.HERITAGE 2November - December 2010