*1st Members' Forum

The inaugural FFFAIF Members’ Forum was held at Ashfield RSL club in Sydney on 15 November 2009. The twenty plus members present enjoyed the day which included informal presentations by four fellow members.

Damian Madden started off the day by showing a ‘teaser’ of a documentary he is making on Fromelles.  Damian is also developing a “virtual” Fromelles Museum focussing on the soldiers’ stories of the Battle of Fromelles.  

This presentation was followed by Stuart Curry dressed as a First World War pilot, complete with a WW1 airman’s leather jacket and gloves, flying goggles and flying helmet. Stuart aims to promote greater recognition of the service and sacrifice of the DIGGERS through attending commemorative events in WW1 uniforms and hopes to encourage other FFFAIF members to don uniforms of soldiers, sailors, airmen and nurses on special ocassions.  
Stuart’s research interests now include the Royal Flying Corps and the Australian Flying Corps with a focus on 2^nd Lieut. Charles Kingsford Smith, R.F.C.  in addition to his strong interest in the Australian Field Artillery.

The morning session was concluded with a presentation by Chris Bryett, editor of Over The Top, extracted from the diary of Digger Harry Hartnett.  Chris was supported by Nola Thomas, the daughter of Harry, and her husband Alby. Chris also outlined how he had used multiple data bases as research tools in researching and editing the diary.

After a buffet lunch the group reconvened for a ‘show & tell’ with Ray Black sharing stories of his visits to the Western Front battlefields and showed an original copy of the 3^rd Battalion’s Randwick to Hargicourt, complete with handwritten comments from a 3^rd Battalion sergeant.  

Jim Munro demonstrated some of the maps scanned by the Western Front Association and Imperial War Museum in the UK to make the IWM map collection available on DVDs. General discussion concluded a successful forum at about 2:30pm.

*****

The Families and Friends of the First AIF applauds the joint Australian–UK decision, announced by The Hon Greg Combet AM MP and the Hon Kevan Jones MP, to conduct a full DNA testing program on the remains of Australian and British soldiers found in mass graves at Pheasant Wood (Fromelles), and for their continuing commitment to identify as many of the fallen as is possible. We also thank the Australian, UK and French governments for affording dignified individual reburials for these soldiers, buried by German soldiers following the Battle of Fromelles on 19/20 July 1916, in the new Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery presently under construction at Fromelles.