Oxford Australia Blog

Sharing our love of education, language, and books

Tag: first world war

  • 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…

  • Oxford Word of the Month – December: Billzac

    Billzac – noun: a typical Australian soldier. During the First World War a number of terms for the typical Australian soldier appeared. In the early stages of the war a name from the Boer War, Tommy Cornstalk, was revived and used, along with Tommy Colonial. After the landings at Anzac Cove in 1915, the term…

  • The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force – September 1914: Australia’s first ever joint military operation

    One hundred years ago, in September 1914, Australia began its first ever joint military operation. The occupation of German New Guinea, taking place more than seven months before the Anzac landings, will always be overshadowed by the larger and more violent event at Gallipoli, but in its own regional context it was at least equally…

  • Oxford Word of the Month – November: Snowball March

    Snowball march – noun: a march held during the First World War to encourage army recruitment, particularly from rural areas. During the First World War, a method for recruiting soldiers, especially from rural areas, was the snowball march. After the outbreak of war, committees were formed in most Australian towns to organise and encourage recruitment….