Association’s History

Australian military historian and author John Laffin, proposed the creation of the Families and Friends of the First AIF (FFFAIF) which is Dedicated to Digger Heritage, at the opening of the Australian Corps Memorial Park at Le Hamel on 4th July 1998.

A group of dedicated supporters met in early 2000 to implement his concept. The FFFAIF was incorporated in mid 2002 with the late John Laffin’s son Craig becoming the association’s Founding President, who after four years of valued service, retired from the position in 2006. Russell Curley succeeded as President and served until 2015 when Jim Munro became President.

The FFFAIF honours the memory of three great Australians as its Patrons-in-Memoriam. John Laffin is honoured for his lifelong endeavours to commemorate the Diggers of WW1 and for founding the FFFAIF. Generals Sir John Monash GCMG KCB VD and Sir Harry Chauvel GCMG KCB are honoured for their commanding and inspirational leadership during WW1.