More photos
I have recently been able to acquire for the museum a WW1 scrapbook filled with period photos of numerous soldiers. These will provide a great deal of information for the museum and I will use them as the basis for my next series of memorials, keep watching this space and I will let you know when I recieve the book. In other news I have updated the memorial section with four new memorials. Lest we forget.
95 Years
It is 95 years today since those brave young men lined up in that field near Fromelles, ready to do their duty and although the years may have passed, time has not reduced the impact of their sacrifice. Lest we forget.
Collection Items
I have updated the site with photographs of more items from the museum's collection. Please take the time to explore the collection section and don't forget to go back through the archives in case you have missed something. I have also added the memorials of Arthur and William Russell, two brothers who both were killed during WW1 as well as that of George Patterson, who was a prominent Sydney ad-man.
Video Memorials
I have recently been doing some work with teachers from St Mary's Cathedral College here in Sydney. Staff have instigated a program whereby year 9 students are able to make short video memorials detailing the lives of some of the soldier's who were killed at Fromelles as part of their history course. Over the coming days I will be adding these to the website under the memorial section.
Welcome to Lest We Forget
Welcome to the newly relaunched Lest We Forget.
For those of you who have been to the site before I implore you to have a look around, you’ll find all of the information from the previous site as well as some exciting new features, such as our brand new iPhone application.
If, on the other hand, you’re new to the site, here’s a little background information on what the site is and how it came about.
I first launched Lest We Forget: The Virtual Fromelles Museum, on Anzac Day 2010, the culmination of ten years of research into the battle of Fromelles.
It was my goal to create a site that made First World War history accessible to young Australians, while at the same time ensuring that history was preserved online for future generations to discover.
More than just the stuff you get in text books, Lest We Forget tells the story of the individual man in the trench. Those brave, everyday Australians who left everything behind to go and fight for freedom. Although they weren’t all publically recognised for their heroics with medals and awards they were, never the less, all heroes.
When researching and writing each soldier’s story I wanted to go “beyond the trenches” and really investigate these men’s lives. Where did they come from? What did they do? Who did they leave behind? This genealogical element has helped to add an extra dimension to the website, creating a more complete and relatable picture of the Australian Frist World War soldier.
Since launch the site has generated hundreds of emails from schools, students and descendants of soldiers, all eager to learn more or share their family’s story. The site is also regularly archived by the National Library as part of their Pandora Project and last November I was humbled to receive an invitation to lunch with the Governor General in Canberra as a result of the website.
Because of this positive response I decided to expand and relaunch the site, creating Lest We Forget: The Virtual Australian First World War Museum. The site you are visiting today!
But I didn’t just want this new site to be a visual refresh of the old site; I wanted to offer a more substantial user experience. So, as well as more research, the site now includes a large collection of First World War artefacts and photographs I have been able to amass over the years, many of which have never been seen by the public before. There is also a more user friendly layout, press section, blog and, perhaps most exciting of all; an iPhone application.
The iPhone application; Lest We Forget: Australia’s First World War Heroes, provides a daily dose of inspiration in the form of 365 short, true stories about the bravery shown by Australians during the First World War. With a new story each day it’s an easy way to get your history fix, wherever you are.
This whole website and the research it requires is a one-man operation and very much a labour of love, operating with no form of formal funding. So feel free to share your thoughts, comments and of course any stories you may have about Australia's military history I'd love to hear them.
Kind Regards,
Damian Madden
