Archive for July, 2007

Viewing the IWM exhibition, Part Two

13 July 2007 by Mal Booth. No comments
Exhibitions, Lawrence of Arabia and the Light Horse, Less than six degrees of separation, Loans, Our exhibition

A while back, actually a long while back, I promised to enlighten you about a couple of inspiring things that I saw in London in 2006 during my visits to view the IWM’s Lawrence of Arabia, the Life, the Legend exhibition and to negotiate our UK loans. So after a long delay and absolutely no requests to read the second part of my story, here it is. I must tell you that what I’ve written below were my impressions, recorded in London over Easter 2006. Since then, I’ve worked on the challenges presented by our exhibition and I’ve developed an even deeper appreciation of the work that went into these exhibitions.

Churchill’s Lifeline at the IWMFirstly, I found the IWM’s relatively new Churchill Museum absolutely stunning. Located with the Cabinet War Rooms, it is visually splendid and makes full use of modern exhibition technology to educate visitors about Churchill’s amazing life by very clever use of sound, documents, images, film footage, interactives and the display of selected objects. I went for a quick visit, just to breeze through and found myself there for some hours. You get a very good sense of the man and his achievements without being confused or overwhelmed by too much content or context.

read on

Commemoration - Latest news articles

13 July 2007 by Craig Tibbitts. 1 Comment
To Flanders Fields, 1917, Commemoration

Pilgrimage to Passchendaele: a killing field haunted by family memories, Telegraph (UK), 30 July 2007

Diggers remembered in Passchendaele ceremonies, ABC News (Australia), 13 July 2007 (includes online audio feature)

Last Post sounds again at Passchendaele, but no old comrades are there to hear it. The Times, 12 July 2007.

Hell on Earth: The never before seen colour photographs of the bloody battle of Passchendaele, The Daily Mail, 12 July 2007.

Queen honours fallen soldiers 90 years after Passchendaele. CBC News (Canada), 12 July 1917.

Relief maps of the Western Front

13 July 2007 by Dianne Rutherford. 1 Comment
To Flanders Fields, 1917, Maps & Aerial Photos

The Memorial holds some very interesting three-dimensional relief maps made in 1919 by the Australian War Records Section (the parent organisation of the Australian War Memorial). They were made in London by men who were still in England, waiting to be repatriated home.

Relief map of Zonnebeke area, BelgiumSection 5AW, who created the maps was established sometime around December 1918 and was managed by Lieutenant Cyril Isaac. In civilian life Lieutenant Isaac worked for the Education Department in Victoria. During the war he served with 58th Battalion in Europe before joining the AWRS. The Role of 5AW was to create three dimensional maps of the battlefields of France and Belgium and to later train staff in Egypt how to make similar maps of Gallipoli and Palestine.

Very few records from 5AW exist today and the reasons behind the creation of the maps are unclear. Records indicate they were created either to assist people who could not read contours on maps, understand the terrain Australians fought over, or as a precursor to making the larger plan models (such as the Gallipoli plan model, currently on display). The latter seems unlikely as section 4AW was making the plan models at the same time the relief maps were being made.

Making the relief maps, London 1919

A third possibility is the story which has circulated around staff at the Memorial, that the maps were created to aid Official War Correspondent CEW Bean in writing the official histories of Australians in the First World War. It is possible that Bean did use them whilst writing, but nothing has yet been found in the Memorial’s files to confirm they were created for that purpose.

The maps were created by modelers and draftsmen. The modeler gradually built up the contours by making levels, or ‘steps’, possibly from plywood. Once all the levels were complete a coating of papier mache was placed over the levels. The papier mache was made with very fine paper pulp and a heated clear glue called ‘small cake glue’. The modelers mixed the hot glue with paper pulp, which had most of the water squeezed out of it. They relied mostly on their sense of touch, working the mixture until it felt smooth, like plastic. The papier mache was smoothed and rounded out to make the contours.

Once the map was dried, draftsmen transferred the details from the relevant 1:10,000 or 1:20,000 trench map by hand. All details, including map grid squares were included on the items as they were maps in the truest sense of the word, not just models of the landscape.

Making relief maps, London 1919

The Memorial only holds maps of France and Belgium. While they had planned on making maps of Palestine and Gallipoli, they never eventuated. There are 22 relief maps in the Memorial’s collection covering a number of areas in France and Belgium, including Pozieres, Peronne, Villers-Bretonneux, Bullecourt and Fromelles. One of the relief maps, showing the area south of the River Somme, including Hamel and Harbonnieres, is currently on exhibition in the Western Front Gallery. Another relief map will be on display in the To Flanders Fields exhibition, showing the area from Ypres to Passchendaele.

Further information on the maps, along with the plan models and dioramas is available from the article, ‘Teaching the terrain: First World War battlefields at the Australian War Memorial.’ Published in The Globe Issue 55, 2004.

Relief map of Polygon wood, Belgium

Victoria Crosses of 1917

12 July 2007 by Craig Tibbitts. No comments
To Flanders Fields, 1917, Frontline troops

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest British and Commonwealth award for acts of bravery in wartime. In the First World War 64 Australians were awarded this medal. During the battles of 1917 on the Western Front eighteen Australians won the Victoria Cross.

Murray, VC P01465.004

Captain Henry William (Harry) Murray (13th Infantry Battalion, 4th Division AIF). 4-5 February 1917, at Stormy Trench, NE of Gueudecourt, France. View recommendation

Cherry, VC H06507A

Captain Percy Herbert Cherry (26th Infantry Battalion, 2nd Division AIF). 26 March 1917, at Lagnicourt, France. View recommendation

Jensen, VC H06203A

Private Joergen Christian Jensen (50th Infantry Battalion, 4th Division AIF). 2 April 1917, at Noreuil, France. View recommendation

Newland, VC A02614

Captain James Ernest Newland (12th Infantry Battalion, 1st Division AIF). 7-9 April & 15 April 1917, West of Boursies and at Lagnicourt, France. View recommendation Part 1. Part 2

Kenny, VC P02939.017

Private Thomas James Bede Kenny (2nd Infantry Battalion, 1st Division AIF). 9 April 1917, at Hermies, France.View recommendation.

Whittle, VC H06186A

Sergeant John Woods Whittle (12th Infantry Battalion, 1st Division AIF). 9-15 April 1917, near Boursies and Lagnicourt, France. View recommendation Part 1. Part 2.

Pope, VC A02648A

Lieutenant Charles Pope (11th Infantry Battalion, 1st Division AIF). 15 April 1917, at Louverval, France.View recommendation

Howell, VC J03080A

Corporal George Julian Howell (1st Infantry Battalion, 1st Division AIF). 6 May 1917, near Bullecourt, France. View recommendation Part 1. Part 2.

Moon, VC A02592A

Lieutenant Rupert Vance Moon (58th Infantry Battalion, 5th Division AIF). 12 May 1917, near Bullecourt, France. View recommendation Part 1. Part 2.

Grieve, VC H00038

Captain Robert Cuthbert Grieve (37th Infantry Battalion, 3rd Division AIF). 7 June 1917, at Messines, Belgium. View recommendation

Carroll, VC P02939.022

Private John Carroll (33rd Infantry Battalion, 3rd Division AIF). 7-10 June 1917, at St Yves (near Messines), Belgium. View recommendation

Inwood, VC H06193

Private Reginald Roy Inwood (10th Infantry Battalion, 1st Division AIF). 20-21 September 1917, at Polygon Wood, near Ypres, Belgium. View recommendation

Birks, VC P02939.023

Second Lieutenant Frederick Birks (6th Infantry Battalion, 1st Division AIF). 20 September 1917, at Glencourse Wood, near Ypres, Belgium. View recommendation

Dwyer, VC E01731A

Sergeant John James Dwyer (4th Machine Gun Company, 4th Division AIF). 26 September 1917, at Zonnebeke, near Ypres, Belgium. View recommendation

Bugden, VC H12601

Private Patrick Joseph Bugden (31st Infantry Battalion, 5th Division AIF). 26-28 September 1917, at Polygon Wood, near Ypres, Belgium. View recommendation

McGee, VC A02623A

Sergeant Lewis McGee (40th Infantry Battalion, 3rd Division AIF). 4th October 1917, at Broodseinde, near Ypres, Belgium. View recommendation

Peeler, VC H06198

Lance Corporal Walter Peeler (3rd Pioneer Battalion, 3rd Division AIF). 4th October 1917, at Broodseinde, near Ypres, Belgium. View recommendation

Jeffries, VC P01920.028

Captain Clarence Smith Jeffries (34th Infantry Battalion, 3rd Division AIF). 12th October 1917, near Passchendaele, Belgium. View recommendation

Online biographical details of all Australian Victoria Cross holders are featured on the

Australian Dictionary of Biography

Thirty Years of an Artist’s Life

12 July 2007 by Janda Gooding. No comments
George Lambert: Gallipoli and Palestine Landscapes, Exhibition

Amy Lambertâ��s book Amy Lambert’s bookIn 1938 Amy Lambert produced a book titled G.W. Lambert, A.R.A. (Thirty years of an artist’s life). Amy used a lot of personal correspondence from her husband including substantial accounts of his time working as a war artist in the Middle East and Gallipoli. Through these letters we get an insight into Lambert’s working methods, his relationships to officers and troopers of the Light Horse, and his reactions to the landscapes and historic battlefields he visited.

When he first arrived in Egypt in January 1918 he wrote that “I am ridiculously happy. Already I have done three pieces of work and everywhere I look there are glorious pictures, magnificent men and real top-hole Australian horses.” The beauty of the place overwhelmed him and he developed an abiding respect for the men of the Light Horse which eventually found expression in his large commissioned paintings. Towards the end of his second visit in 1919 and as he was packing up to return to London, he wrote to Amy: “Everything is closing up here, and there is a beastly left-over feeling about us all.” The Australian camps were being dismantled and Lambert, like others was returning to a post-war world.

This book is full of information and insights into the character of Lambert and despite Amy virtually erasing herself from the narrative, there are also many clues for the reader about their long lasting and devoted marriage. First published in 1938 it was reprinted in 1977 by Australian Artist Editions. Copies of the 1977 edition of the book are also available through the Memorial’s bookshop.

Study for Dead Trooper

02 July 2007 by Ilaria Poli. No comments
George Lambert: Gallipoli and Palestine Landscapes, Conservation, Exhibition

George Lambert ‘Study for Dead Trooper and detail of Turkish trench, Gallipoli (pro Patria)’ 1919 ART02857

The majority of conservation treatments on paintings in the George Lambert: Gallipoli & Palestine Landscapes exhibition were relatiavely straightforward. There were a few exceptions to this rule, one being Study for Dead Trooper and detail of Turkish trench, Gallipoli (pro Patria), oil on canvas, 1918. A lot of work was required on the painting and its frame. This included: cleaning the surfaces of the painting and its frame, filling and inpainting the frame, cleaning the canvas edges, strip lining the whole work, attaching the canvas to a new stretcher, flattening some areas of the canvas as well as filling and inpainting the paint layer. The frame had a number of specific issues. The task of removing the old layer of gold coating from the frame was more difficult than usual as there were many layers of gesso between the bronze leaf and the top gold coating that had to be removed. There were also problems with previous repairs to the frame that were falling off during the cleaning process. As the repairs to process the frame’s corners progressed much of the old fill broke away, loosening sections that were previously fixed down. Subsequently, many parts of the corner mouldings had to be re-placed into position and sometimes new sections were moulded to size and shape. Inpainting of the filled areas and all the losses on the bronze leaf original base layer also required hours of work. Difficulty arose as there were many small areas, each of varying tones of gold. It was also one of the larger frames to be included in the exhibition so there was a greater surface area to deal with than the others.This oil on canvas painting was originally stretched onto a stretcher but at some point the canvas was laid onto a wood panel. Possibly this was to make it easier to fit into the frame and there are several examples in the collection of this having been done.

â��Study for dead trooperâ�� (ART02857), back of frame with corner keys ‘Study for dead trooper’ (ART02857), back of frame with corner keys

Work on the canvas began by firstly carefully removing it from the wood panel support. The canvas was not adhered very well to the panel so removal was reasonably straightforward. The back of the canvas had a great amount of old adhesive around the edges. This adhesive had to be removed to have the cleanest possible surface for further treatment. Once the old adhesive was removed the edges were slightly dampened and flattened with a heated spatula. The flatness allowed easier manipulation for the procedure of adhering polyester strips. Each strip was adhered to the canvas edge with BEVA® 371 film under heat. These polyester strips became extensions of the canvas and allowed for a greater surface area to staple the canvas to the new stretcher bar. The addition of these strips also gave the weakened canvas edges much needed extra strength. Each edge was carefully aligned and stapled onto a new stretcher. The sides of the canvas were protected by thin strips of card for added protection from the frame rebate. The tension in the canvas was then adjusted by the ‘keys’ in the corners of the stretcher. The next task was flattening four bulges in the canvas. These areas were left under a poultice and flattened with weights. Consolidation of two areas of flaking paint was undertaken using an adhesive combined with heat to attach the fragile areas. The final process was glazing, rehousing and putting a protective backing on the painting. A laminated glass was placed into the rebate edges, the painting slotted in and a backing board sat behind the canvas. The backing board was fixed down with several brackets and hangers were nailed into the frame. Laminated, non-reflective glass was used to provide better viewing and strength as the painting will be travelling as part of the exhibition.

Ilaria Poli, Conservator