Oxford Australia Blog

Sharing our love of education, language, and books

Tag: ANZAC

  • The Anzac Legend

    Ever since news of the landing at Gallipoli first reached Australia via the reporting of the British war correspondent Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett, the achievements of the AIF have become embedded in Australian national consciousness. By the end of the war the AIF had come to be regarded as one of the premier Allied fighting forces, and [General…

  • World War One: links to explore

    As Anzac Day approaches, we have collected some of our favourite pieces about the Great War from the Oxford Australia blog and around the Press online. You can read about the history of the iconic Anzac biscuit, rediscover soldier slang from First World War or listen to the remarkable story of John Simpson and his…

  • World War One: a snapshot in quotes

    Assassination has never changed the history of the world. – Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield, speech, House of Commons, 1 May 1865 On June 28th 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by a Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip, while visiting Sarajevo. This one event, this assassination, was the catalyst for four years of…

  • The story behind the cover: Furphies and Whizz-bangs

    One hundred years on, the slang of soldiers of the First World War continues to fascinate. In Furphies and Whizz-bangs: Anzac Slang from the Great War Dr Amanda Laugesen draws on primary source material taken from soldiers’ letters, diaries and trench publications, along with contemporary newspapers and books, to bring the language of the Australian soldier…

  • Commemorating 100 years

    Between 2014 and 2018 Australia will remember the Anzac Centenary, marking 100 years since World War One. To commemorate, we continue to publish a range of essential history and literature books. Explore Australia’s role in the First World War with our Centenary History of Australia and the Great War series or examine the slang of…

  • Rediscovering words from the Great War

    In this article, reproduced from our latest issue of Ozwords, Amanda Laugesen takes a look at slang terms used by Aussie soldiers during the First World War. In my recent book, Furphies and Whizz-bangs: Anzac Slang from the Great War, I had the opportunity to revisit some of the classic collections of war slang, including…

  • The iconic ANZAC biscuit

    An Australian icon, these crunchy biscuits originated during World War 1. It is generally believed that the ANZAC biscuit were created by the Australian and New Zealand wives, mothers, sisters and sweethearts who wanted to make a treat for their loved ones that could survive the long journey to the front, that’s why they keep…

  • Remembering Anzac Day – how Australia grieved in the early years

    As we draw closer to the day where our country’s tradition is to remember, we thought we’d take a look back at how Australian’s began commemorating ‘Anzac day’ in those first few years. This is an excerpt from chapter 28** from the forthcoming The Centenary History of Australia and the Great War Series  – Volume…