Conditions

From the trenches to POW camps, selected artefacts which convey conditions of war from the past 100 years.

By Australian War Memorial

Australian War Memorial

The Dinkum Oil, 1915, From the collection of: Australian War Memorial
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The Australian official war correspondent Charles Bean helped create The Dinkum Oil, an early example of the trench newspapers that appeared during the First World War.

The Dinkum Oil today offers a glimpse of life on Gallipoli, revealing not only the concerns and experiences of the men but also their spirit and humour.

Members of the 1st Australian Infantry Battalion outside their billets (1917)Australian War Memorial

Members of the 1st Australian Infantry Battalion outside their billets

Ypres, 1917

Queen Victoria's chocolate gift tin Queen Victoria's chocolate gift tinAustralian War Memorial

Queen Victoria's chocolate gift tin

In 1900 Queen Victoria conceived the idea of sending a personal New Year’s gift to British soldiers serving in the Boer War in South Africa. This was later extended to include colonial troops and members of the naval brigade.

Blind man in Belsen (1947) by Alan MooreAustralian War Memorial

Blind man in Belsen

1947

The papers of Sister Agnes Betty Jeffrey (1942-1945)Australian War Memorial

Australian army nurse Sister Betty Jeffrey survived the sinking of the Vyner Brooke on 12 February 1942 only to become a Japanese prisoner of war. Jeffrey recorded her experiences in various camps, including Palembang on Sumatra, in notebooks and on scraps of paper.

25-pounder gun (1942) by Thomas FisherAustralian War Memorial

Description
Men of B Troop, 14 Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, pull a 25-pounder gun through dense jungle near Uberi, on the Kokoda Trail in the Owen Stanley Range in September 1942. They are being assisted by the 2/1st Australian Pioneer Battalion.

Kokoda (1942) by Thomas FisherAustralian War Memorial

Troops from the 2/27th Battalion as they reached an outpost in Itiki

October 1942

Centurion tank (1953) by Ivor HeleAustralian War Memorial

Night patrols (Around Maliana) (2009) by Jon CattapanAustralian War Memorial

Night patrols (Around Maliana) 

2009

Night and day (2010) by Lyndell Brown and Charles GreenAustralian War Memorial

Night and day draws on the photographic archive the artists collected while they were embedded in Iraq, and their observation of the Welcome Home parade. Each panel is a complete work with a dominant image whose centre is partially concealed by a series of small pictures.

Credits: Story

Curator: Robyn Van Dyk - Head, Research Centre

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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Related theme
Armistice Day
Commemorating the end of the First World War
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