The Lost Diggers | Interest
The Lost Diggers
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24.01.2022 TONIGHT 8.30 on SBS https://www.sbs.com.au//victoria-cross-recipient-keith-pay
23.01.2022 DIGGERS LOST Few Australians know this story but all should. (a number of diggers who survived WW1 and moved to New Guinea were then lost on this Japanese Hell Ship in WW2)...Continue reading
20.01.2022 Having Jack Thompson narrate my film shot in old hellhole locations in Belgium made it even more special & moving. Wonderful characters, a surprising, searingly sad but ultimately rousing tale of national the treasures of two countries with glorious cinematography by Robb Shaw Velzen who also edited the doco for me. https://vimeo.com/251600659
19.01.2022 For those who've been asking about how to get a copy of the Menin Gate Lions documentary which ares on Ch7: https://www.awm.gov.au/shop/item/9348980002630
18.01.2022 So just over a year ago I found myself back in Vignacourt with the talented photographer Otto Mellar (who digitised all the amazing Lost Diggers images) on Armistice Day 2018. Otto asked me and some of Vignacourt's wonderful townsfolk to pose in the exact same spot where Australian soldiers stood at the moment of the Armistice on the 11th of the 11th 1918. It was a great privilege to be there with him for this quite extraordinary photograph: 11:00 11 November 1918 - Louis Thuillier 11:00 11 November 2018 - Otto Mellar.
15.01.2022 https://www.rslqld.org//In-Search-of-a-WWI-Digger-Can-You-
07.01.2022 No Less Worthy Today the Memorial was honoured to host the launch of No less worthy: acknowledging Western Australian Aboriginal men in World War I [second edi...tion]. After a Welcome to Country by Michael Bell, an appreciative audience were moved by the words of Ms Diane Brown (Granddaughter of Charles Hutchins a serviceman featured in the book). The Hon Ken Wyatt AM, MP, Minister for Aboriginal Australians; Hon Ben Wyatt, WA Min for Aboriginal Affairs; Mr Ron Bradfield; Dr Richard Wally; and Dr Brendan Nelson AO (via video) also spoke at the event. About the book: At the outbreak of war in August 1914, thousands of men from across the nation flocked to recruiting centres to sign up to serve in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). This figure includes approximately 1,200 Aboriginal people. The lives of these men as civilians were often fraught with difficulty due to the attitudes and policies of the time. Despite legislative barriers to exclude people not of ‘substantial European descent’ from serving, 135 Aboriginal men with ties to Western Australia are known to have volunteered in the First World War, The motivations for volunteering were varied. We can assume that many who signed up saw it as an opportunity not to be missed, rallied on by the press that portrayed war service as fulfilling a sense of duty and patriotism. Some were caught up in the excitement of the moment, or attracted by the thought of a regular wage, while others simply followed their mates light-hearted, confident and curious. There were also those who may have seen it as a chance to unshackle the inequalities experienced in their lives. No Less Worthy provides an insight into the volunteers who were prepared to sacrifice their lives for their country and their stories. Available here https://www.awm.gov.au/shop/item/9781925040371
05.01.2022 Great project from students of St Clare’s College in Sydney, Australia: https://australianculturalfund.org.au//the-lost-diggers-o/
05.01.2022 On SBS this Wednesday (8.30pm) a doco presented by Ray Martin. An Australian Hero: Keith Payne VC. Much, much more than a war story. Due to COVID-19, SBS promos department haven't been able to make a specific ad/promo for this doco, so please do feel free to share - and get the message out to people who may be interested. https://vimeo.com/379149553
04.01.2022 Identified behind the middle Australian army nurse is Constable Eremas Tolik of #Raluana, near Rabaul. He is holding the band staff. Eremas joined the Constabulary of the New Guinea police force in 1939 as a member of the band and served throughout the war. He was appointed the drum major of the Royal Papuan Constabulary band. After the war he remained with the police force. Eremus served in Lae in 1972-1974 as sergeant (first class), was commissioned as a sub inspector of the royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary around 1980, and died at his village of Raluana on 5 November 1997
03.01.2022 Video Extras that didn't make it into the original Lost Diggers episodes: https://vimeo.com/300702580
02.01.2022 Coming up on SBS TV this Wednesday May 27th (8.30pm) a documentary - An Australian Hero: Keith Payne VC - presented by Ray Martin. Keith has arguably done more since he was awarded the VC than he did to get the VC. General Sir Peter Cosgrove. Those words by our former defence chief and recent Governor-General go to the heart of the story of one of our greatest Australians and our oldest Victoria Cross recipient, Keith Payne.... Fifty years since Keith earned the highest honour for valour by rescuing 40 men in a bloody Vietnam War battle, he’s still fighting - to improve and even save the lives of men and women suffering post-traumatic stress. Television legend Ray Martin has criss-crossed Australia with Keith for the last year documenting the life of the indefatigable and unconventional 86-year-old war hero turned civilian warrior against PTSD. It’s a story rooted in steely resolve to overcome his own darkness of alcohol and PTSD that threatened to destroy his marriage and family. The man that emerged is an inspiration for veterans and school kids alike, from his hometown of Mackay to Canberra and Kununurra and Nowra to Narrabeen. Keith is a little bloke with a huge heart who’s made and continues to make a massive contribution to Australian society, without fanfare or fuss, says Ray Martin. He’s a national treasure yet his searingly honest story still surprises. Nowhere is that more evident than in the outback Keith loves. He’s as comfortable charming cheeky indigenous kids or eating damper with their elders on a sacred salt lake and as he is taking tea with the Queen at the Palace or Sir Peter and Lady Cosgrove on the lawns of Admiralty House. The cameras also capture the reunion with the US Green Beret medic Keith rescued in the famous battlefield action of 1969 which earned him high honours and legendary status in the USA as well. There’s inter-generational reverence shown Keith by WW2 survivors, pony-tailed biker Vietnam vets and shiny, young servicemen and women at the 100th anniversary of the Armistice. But neither Keith nor the film flinches from the reality of the early torment of the Victoria Cross curse wrecking Keith’s own household as he battled an illness then unknown to the medical profession let alone sufferers themselves: PTSD. There’s heartache from four sons alienated by the ugliness of that period then ultimately pride as their dad conquers his demons and help others do likewise. Above all, there’s a love story love of 65 years and counting. The devotion and patience of Flo, the woman beside Keith through thick and thin, is the core of the man and the film. Flo herself has served the community selflessly and, as then war memorial director Brendan Nelson says: SHE deserves the Victoria Cross!
01.01.2022 #TheLostDiggers fans will recognise the photograph that heads our page - the image of Australian diggers from the 5th Batt in the village square of the French town of Vignacourt at the very moment of the Armistice on the 11th of the 11th 1918. Today the townsfolk of Vignacourt honoured the memory of that moment by gathering in the town square and recreating the image from a century ago. They also raised the Australian flag on the Vignacourt cathedral, just as the Aussies did... in 1918. I've attached the 1918 images here - showing the Australian Diggers celebrating WW1's Armistice in Vignacourt Square in exactly the same spot. And what they were looking at was the Aussie and French flags on the Vignacourt cathedral spire. A brave Vignacourt local kindly obliged for us yesterday by climbing the Vignacourt spire a century on and flying the Aussie flag! They will never forget the Australians:
