We first met Frederick Charles Fisher in my previous post for the Trans-Tasman Anzac Day Blog Challenge. Fred was a handsome, imposing young man, tall and strong, and no doubt cut a fine figure in his uniform. While he was serving with the 19th Battalion during the War, Fred obviously had an impact on this young lady. Was … More Postcards to the Front 1917
In the early months of 1915, two young brothers enlisted to serve their country in the First World War. It’s unlikely they felt they were going to fight to defend “home” and the “motherland” as their grandparents and uncles were German-born, not unlike my own Kunkel relatives. Perhaps they felt they needed to defend their … More Two brothers go to war: Les and Fred Fisher
For Remembrance Day 2013, I’m going to share with you the brief story of a man who has no family connection to me whatsoever. He made himself known through a photograph found in my cousin’s extensive photo collection. My 4th cousin in Sydney is one of those people who has myriad photographs stored in suitcases … More Remembrance Day 2013: Erle Victor Weiss
“But the toll of missing is getting smaller. It is not quite the disaster which at first appeared. I would say we lost something between 4000 and 5000”. Such are the relatively dispassionate words entered in the diary of Australia’s military historian, Charles Bean, after the Battle of Fromelles on 19/20 July 1916.[i] However the … More Fromelles, Lt Col WEH Cass and family collections.
I am participating in the A to Z 2012 blog challenge throughout April. Today’s post is both historical and genealogical, as in Australia and New Zealand we celebrate 25 April as Anzac Day, commemorating the landing at Gallipoli and all the Australian and New Zealand military contributions since then. Tying in the with Trans-Tasman Anzac … More V is for the Valiant of Villers-Bretonneux: Lest we forget
This is Week 16 in my Beyond the Internet series in which I explore the sources of information beyond our computer screens. In honour of Anzac Day coming up this week, the topic is War service records. Once again this week, the topic will be a cross-over between online and offline resources. Please do join … More Beyond the Internet: Week 16 War service records
This is Week 13 in my Beyond the Internet series in which I explore the sources of information beyond our computer screens. This week’s topic is War Memorial and Plaques. I’d love it if you wanted to join in with your thoughts on this topic. If possible please provide a link to your post on … More Beyond the Internet Week 13: Lest we forget: War Memorials
It’s not just the weather in Darwin where it never rains but it pours. Over the past week we’ve had a flurry of diverse historical and genealogical talks. Today I’ll focus on the historical talks. On Saturday 18th February the Genealogical Society of the Northern Territory, with support from The Northern Territory Archives, hosted a … More Never rains but it pours: Historical talks in Darwin
Shelley from Twigs of Yore has again initiated an Australia Day blogging theme. In 2012 the focus is “wealth for toil” drawing on the words of our national anthem, Advance Australia Fair. Our challenge is to choose an Aussie ancestor and relate how they toiled. There were several alternative approaches but I chose to tell … More Australia Day 2012: Wealth for toil on the railway?
A couple of my family’s fallen Diggers, James Augustus Gavin and William Rudolph (Robert) Kunkel, were remembered in earlier posts. Today I want to focus on the service of the Australian Diggers in World War I who were descendants of the mid-19thcentury Dorfprozelten immigrants, five of whom gave their lives and another 17 served in … More Remembrance Day: honouring the Australian-born Diggers with German ancestry
Family history across the seas 