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 retained to remind you of key dates and events and will be updated to advise of alternative arrangements, deferrals and cancellations.
FFFAIF Patron-in-Chief, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia has shared a message about the importance of staying connected and looking out for each other during the COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to view message.
Saturday 18 April 2020
Australian branch meeting of the Western Front Association – rescheduled to November 7th 2020
Location: The Penshurst RSL sub-branch building, 58a Penshurst Street, Penshurst.
“St Albans Anglican Church Roll of Honour” Julie Evans.
A special “show-and-tell” of the Great War collection of relics, weapons, medals and other items held by the Penshurst sub-branch. Sean McManus, honorary curator.
“Magic Lantern Show!” Paul Simadas will present a small selection of recently colourised versions of period photographs taken of the British forces on the Western Front.
Contact: Paul Simadas <wfaaustraliabranch@gmail.com>Saturday 18 July 2020, FFFAIF John Laffin Memorial Lecture series
Rescheduled to Saturday 7 November
Contact: rsvp@fffaif.org.auSaturday 1 August Fromelles Association AGM at Singleton
Alternative arrangements TBA
Contact: Anne Benn, anne_benn@yahoo.com.au
Geoffrey Benn, Secretary, gvb456@gmail.com
Royce Atkinson, President, Fromelles Association
royceatkinson@hotmail.comSaturday 26 September, Commemoration of the Battles of Third Ypres
Alternative arrangements TBA
10:40 for 11;00 Commemoration at the Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney
Contact: rsvp@fffaif.org.auSaturday 7 November 2020
Australian branch meeting of the Western Front Association and FFFAIF John Laffin Memorial Lecture series– rescheduled from Saturday 18 April 2020 – rescheduled from Saturday 18 July 2020
Wednesday 11 November 2020, Remembrance Day
Alternative arrangements TBA
10:10am for 10:25am Commemoration at
The Cenotaph, Martin Place, SydneySaturday 14 November, FFFAIF AGM
9:45 for 10am Anzac Memorial Auditorium, Hyde Park, Sydney
Contact: rsvp@fffaif.org.auSaturday 14 November, WFA Branch Lecture Series
11:15 for 11:30am Anzac Memorial Auditorium, Hyde Park, Sydney
Contact: Paul Simadas, Co-Chair of the Western Front Association at wfaaustraliabranch@gmail.comDates 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
- 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
- DIGGER 68
- Fromelles Day Sydney 2019: Commemorative Procession and Commemoration
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: Diggers of First AIF
ANZAC Day in the time of Coronavirus
1st Battalion at Mena Pyramids Source: Alan Andrews’ souvenir postcard collection. Due to the impact of the Coronavirus and control measures implemented, the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Anzac Memorial in Sydney and Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne are closed to … Continue reading
Australian DIGGER stories on-line
The Families and Friends of the First AIF has brought its vast collection of Australian DIGGER stories on-line for its Members. First Issue 2002 and 2003 All 69 editions of DIGGER published from October 2002 are now available for reading … 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
9 Fromelles Diggers named
DNA tests have identified nine more soldiers killed in the Battle of Fromelles on 19th July, 1916. The graves of these soldiers will now be given their identity in the Pheasant Wood, Fromelles Cemetery. Their names are: Private Leonard Broadhurst (3013) , Sydney, … Continue reading
Fromelles ID Board Reconvenes
On the 23 March 2012 the third annual United Kingdom and Australian Joint Identification Board will convene in London in an effort to formally identify some of the remaining 140 unknown soldiers who are buried in the Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) … Continue reading
Bapaume Honour Roll
A Roll of Honour Plaque will be dedicated on 26 March 2011 in Bapaume to the men of the AIF who were killed on March 25/26 1917 in an explosion in Bapaume Town Hall. Photo: Privates Charles Neild and Alexander … Continue reading
Brothers In Arms
Johan Vanderwalle, co-author of Beneath Flanders Fields – The Tunneller’s War, is visiting Australia in a quest to honour the fallen Diggers of the Great War. Photo: Johan Vanderwalle and Lambis Engelzos In 2007 Johan played a key role in the … Continue reading
Unit History help
FFFAIF member Stuart Curry is researching the 13th Field Artillery Brigade and the 14th Machine Gun Company (5th Division) with a view to completing the writing of their unit histories. To help in telling the story of the men who … Continue reading