Week 1: Part 2 focussing on grief

Never Morning Wore to Evening but Some Heart Did Break by Walter Langley

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery via Compfight

I am learning so much more about the ANZACs while taking this course.

This time the four video stories were from Shrapnel Valley on the Gallipoli Peninsula. This is the main road the ANZACs were on day in and day out. Everything was transported from the landing area through Shrapnel Valley which is in modern days, a cemetery.

The epitaphs on the gravestones were written by family members and they were charged by the government threepence halfpenny per letter and space. With 66 letters and spaces as a maximum, this could be quite a cost for families in the 1920’s. According to an article in Trove on 9 May 1919, families could write an epitaph in the form of a text or prayer of 65 words or three lines maximum but it would be at a cost to the families.

The four videos shown were:

Bryan Lyall, whose mother died in 1917 before epitaphs were allowed from the War Graves Commission.

Samuel Mellor, AWOL, changed names, mother never told what finally happened to him despite her son’s request. Read about his story here.

Charlie Campbell, airman, whose family never gave up despite being told he was dead and buried.

Charles Kingston, who stayed behind to help bury the dead – how did he cope? Check his digitized record here.

 Again we were asked to reflect. My comment:

To me, the most compelling was the brave Captain who after being awarded medals for bravery in action, then volunteered to serve further by helping to bury fallen comrades. After such a harrowing day, he and his Aussie mates would need some time for rest and relaxation  Isn’t this what some Aussie men still do after a hard day at work? Why should we belittle him for his choice of de-stressing his life in a time after war?

Readers:  Do you have any personal examples of how you, or a relative, identified a particular focus while trying to grieve? 

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