A Distant Grief: Australians, War Graves and the Great War

by Bart Ziino

Sixty thousand Australians died during the First World War. This book is the first major study to examine the roles of war graves and cemeteries in private grief and mourning, through archival research of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the organization responsible for commemorating the million soldiers of the British Empire who died in the war. A Distant Grief reorients and enriches international discussion of reactions to death and commemoration during, and after, the First World War. The author, Bart Ziino, has written on war memorials, Gallipoli, and the Australian memory of war. The thesis on which this book is based won the 2005 Australian Historical Association's Serle Award for the best thesis in Australian History.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published March 1, 2007

Reviews

[Saturday's Child · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Sixty thousand Australians perished during the First World War, far from their homeland and their loved ones". This well researched and written book tells of how families, communities and the Country responded to and dealt with this loss. It is an insightful look into this tragic history and the invaluable work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

After some hesitation in the early months of WWI, it was decided that none of the soldiers who died in British Empire troops would be repatriated to their home countries: not English, not Canadian, not South African and not Australian soldiers. Apart from the practical difficulties of locating and shifting the remains (if any) of individual soldiers, this was seen as an expression of equality and solidarity amongst the countries of the Empire, with no soldiers seen as any more important than the others.
...Instead, the role of interring and marking the graves of Australian soldiers fell to the Imperial War Graves Commission. With the exception of the soldiers who fell at Gallipoli, it was decided that each soldier should have an identical headstone marker...
...The Imperial War Graves Commission asked for 10 years to finalize the burial of WWI soldiers, and this book, which draws on the archives of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, tells the story of the Commission, and the way that Australian reactions to death were defined by distance. Certainly, these deaths were of individuals – loved, mourned individuals- but without individual bodies, mourners had to take on more communal responses to their loss.
...This book is an academic monograph, but a very human one. The argument of the book is the juxtaposition between administrative efficiency and personal grief, and this is reflected in Ziino’s use of his sources. As well as the bureaucratic archives of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and other bodies, Ziino draws on personal letters and communications in family archives, and the human stories found in newspaper articles.

For my complete review, please visit:
http://residentjudge.com/2020/04/20/a...

[Brenda Kittelty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant, emotional examination of Australian grief after the First World War. Meticulously researched and beautifully written.