What Became of the ANZACs?

25 March 2014 - Professor Bruce Scates

In the lead up to the Centenary of the Great War, the Australian and New Zealand governments will embark on a great initiative, one destined to change the way that conflict is remembered.  ‘Project Albany’ will involve the digitisation of tens of thousands of repatriation files, charting what happened to the diggers who came home.  What became of the casualties of war:  the gassed, the blind, the crippled, the insane?  Who cared for them?  How did they cope with the trauma of war?  And did Australian servicemen and women return to the ‘Land Fit for Heroes’ they were promised?  The digitisation of service records will open a new chapter in our understanding of war.  Thousands of Australians, young and old, have consulted War Service Dossiers on the National Archives Website but this new resource will enable families to chart the life of a relative through the post war period – and to see his battle didn’t end when the guns stopped firing.

Join historian Professor Bruce Scates on a journey through one of the richest historical records available for World War One.  Professor Scates leads the 100 Stories Project at Monash University.  He wrote the history of the Shrine, A Place to Remember, and is currently researching the history of Soldier Settlement and the history of Anzac Day.  He is a member of the Advisory Council of the National Archives of Australia.