2020 Calendar of events
Due to the Corona Virus the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, ANZAC Memorial in Sydney, Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne and National ANZAC Centre in Albany were closed to the public but have now re-opened with restrictions on numbers and the times of visits. Please check each venue for the current opening times and any other requirements.
Gatherings such as lectures, meetings and Commemorations can no longer be conducted as they have been in previous years. Events planned by FFFAIF and kindred organisations are impacted and in some cases alternatives are being considered.
This Calendar of events is therefore indicative of key dates and events and will be updated to advise of alternative arrangements, deferrals and cancellations.
Tuesday 1 December, FFFAIF AGM
Zoom Meeting
7:00pm Australian EDT
8:00 am Greenwich Mean Time
9:00 am Central European Time
RSVP to agm.rsvp@fffaif.org.au
Dates in History
August
1 August 1917 Third Battle of Ypres begins.
3 August 1914 Australia offers assistance to Great Britain in the event of War.
3 August 1916 Australian Light Horse in Battle of Romani, Egypt .
4 August 1914 Great Britain Declares War on Germany.
6 August 1915 Battle for Lone Pine, Gallipoli.
7 August 1915 Australians charge at the Nek, Gallipoli.
8 August 1916 Battle for Moquet Farm.
8 August 1918 Battle for Amiens begins.
10 August 1914 Voluntary recruitment for the 1st AIF begins.
13 August 1914 Establishment of the Australian Red Cross.
19 August 1914 Expeditionary force sails from Australia to capture German possessions in the Pacific.
21 August 1915 Last major fighting on Gallipoli takes place at Hill 60.
24 August 1916 Official inauguration of the Australian Comforts Fund (ACF).
26 August 1916 6th Australian Brigade attacks Moquet Farm on the Somme.
31 August 1918 Battle of Mont St. Quentin begins.September
1 September 1918 Battle of Mont St. Quentin continues
11 September 1914 Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force lands at Rabaul.
14 September 1914 HMA Submarine AE1 lost off New Guinea
17 September 1918 Australian attack on Hindenburg Line in the Picardy region of France.
19 September 1918 5th Light Horse brigade capture Nablus.
20 September 1912 Official formation of the Australian Flying Corps.
21 September 1914 German New Guinea surrenders.
25 September 1918 Anzac Mounted Division capture Amman.October
1 October 1918 Australian Light Horse take Damascus.
5 October 1918 Capture of Montbrehai, France by AIF.
10 October 1917 Battle of Poelcappelle, Western Front. (Third Battle Ypres).
21 October 1915 Australian Red Cross Missing & Wounded Bureau established.
21 October 1916 5th Australian Division enter the front line near Flers, Somme.
28 October 1916 First conscription referendum.
30 October 1918 Armistice with Turkey.
31 October 1917 4th Light Horse charge at Beersheba, Palestine.November
1 November 1914 1st AIF Convoy sails from Albany, Western Australia.
7 November 1916 Third Battle of Gaza.
9 November 1914 HMAS Sydney sinks the Emden.
11 November 1918 Germany signs the Armistice. REMEMBRANCE DAY.
11 November 1941 Opening of the Australian War Memorial
14 November 1917 End of Third Battle of Ypres, Western Front.December
2 December 1914 First Australian military aircraft despatched to war.
3 December 1914 First AIF disembarked in Egypt
3 December 1915 Siege of Kut begins in Mesopotamia.
7 December 1915 Evacuation of ANZAC troops from Gallipoli begins.
9 December 1917 Jerusalem occupied by the Desert Mounted Corps.
12 December 1917 HMAS Australia damaged in a collision with HMS Repulse.
13 December 1915 Australian Light Horse fight at Um Rakham.
20 December 1915 Last Australian troops evacuated from Gallipoli.
20 December 1917 Second conscription referendum held in Australia.
21 December 1916 Australian Light Horse capture El Arish
23 December 1916 Battle of Magdhaba, northern Sinai
31 December 1914 The second convoy of the First AIF departed Albany Western Australia.January
9 January 1917 Light Horse captures Rafa.
17 January 1917 No. 4 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps sail for France
18 January 1919 Versailles Peace Conference opensFebruary
3 February 1915 Turkish forces attack the Suez Canal
5 February 1917 Captain H.W. Murray wins Victoria Cross in France
19 February 1915 Allied warships shell DardanellesMarch
17 March 1917 Australians occupy Bapaume, Western Front
18 March 1915 Allied fleet second attempts to breach Turkish defences of Dardanelles
20 March 1916 Anzac Corps land in France
21 March 1918 Final German offensive begins
26 March 1917 Captain Cherry, 26th Battalion wins VC at Lagnicourt
28 March 1918 Sergeant McDougall, 47th Battalion wins VC at Dernancourt
31 March 1921 Formation of the Australian Air Force-
Recent News
- Patron-in-Chief – His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd)
- Inaugural Patron-in-Chief – The Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO
- Fromelles Day Sydney 20 July 2020: Commemorative Procession from the Archibald Fountain to the Anzac Memorial and Commemorative Service
- Fromelles Day 2020 Commemorations @ Fromelles, Melbourne and Sydney
- DIGGER 71
- ANZAC Day in the time of Coronavirus
- DIGGER 70
- DIGGER 69
Topics
Past News
Photos
- The Families and Friends of the First AIF supports DNA testing on the remains of Australian and British soldiers found on the battlefields of the Great War and efforts to identify as many of the fallen as is possible.
Category Archives: Fromelles
VALE – Neville Kidd
On behalf of the Committee and Members of Families and Friends of the First AIF, I extend condolences to the family and friends of FFFAIF Foundation and Honorary Member Neville Kidd on his passing in the Lady Davidson Private Hospital … Continue reading
Fromelles Day Sydney – Solemn Vespers and Procession from the Archibald Fountain to the Anzac Memorial Commemorative Service
Solemn Vespers at St Mary’s Cathedral on Tuesday 18 July Commemoration in Sydney of the 101st Anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles commenced with Solemn Vespers at St Mary’s Cathedral on Tuesday 18 July at 7pm commemorating the Australians in … Continue reading
Fromelles Day Commemorations, Wednesday 19 July
Fromelles Day Commemoration, Wednesday 19 July, Sydney All FFFAIF members, friends and descendants and members of the public are invited to attend the Commemoration of the 101st anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles to be held at the ANZAC Memorial, … Continue reading
Remembrance Weekend Sydney
Sydney, NSW – 11-13 November 2016 Friday 11 November Remembrance Day Commemoration at The Cenotaph, Martin Place A number of FFFAIF members attended the Remembrance Day service at The Cenotaph in Martin Place, Sydney where President Jim Munro, accompanied by … Continue reading
Special Event to Welcome Martial and Catherine Delabarre to Sydney
2008 Photo: Martial Delebarre (President Association Fromelles-Weppes-Terre de Memoire 14-18 (F.W.T.M. 14-18 ), Hubert Huchette (Mayor of Fromelles) and Francis Delattre (President de Union des Anciens Combattants – de l’UNC) The Fromelles Association and the Australian Branch of the Western Front … Continue reading
Commemorations of the Battle of Fromelles 19-20 July 1916
Fromelles 6 headstones were dedicated at the commemoration service at the Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery. Now 150 of the 250 headstones indicate the identity of the soldier whose grave it marks. The identities of a further 78 of the … Continue reading
Commemoration of the Battle of Fromelles 19-20 July 1916
Sydney: 10:15 at the Archibald Fountain, Hyde Park for 10:30 Solemn Procession to the ANZAC Memorial for 11:00 Commemorative Service Tuesday 19 July 2016 The Families and Friends of the First AIF invite you to attend the 100th Anniversary Commemoration of The Battle of … Continue reading
Historian Peter Barton @ Memorial Lecture
Peter Barton, battlefield archaeologist and film maker is visiting Australia to launch his latest book The Lost Legions of Fromelles. Peter will make a guest appearance at the 2014 John Laffin Memorial lecture at 10.00am Sunday 29 June at Harbord … Continue reading
More identified from Fromelles
On 26 May 2014 the Assistant Minister for Defence, The Hon Stuart Robert MP, announced the names of a further 20 previously unidentified Australian soldiers who died at the Battle of Fromelles in 1916. 2560 Sgt David Samuel Anderson was amongst … Continue reading
Fromelles Update July 2013
Half of the Diggers from Pheasant Wood have been named. The graves of 124 of the 250 soldiers whose remains were recovered from the communal pits near Pheasant Wood, Fromelles in French Flanders and were reburied with full military honours … Continue reading