Scotch College

All set for Gallipoli

'By the time the boys reach Gallipoli and the Western Front they'll feel that they know some of the Old Scotch diggers personally', commented Head of History Dr Mark Johnston, on the eve of the history department's 'In the Steps of Monash' tour.

In the months leading up to the departure, boys were each allocated a number of the two hundred and five Old Boys who had died in the First World War. Their task was to research the Collegians of the era, as well as explore Internet sites such as the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database.

'At various sites on tour we'll be inviting the boys to share their knowledge, as we honour those who did not return from the war', Dr Johnston added.

Dr Johnston's colleagues Mrs Pauline Westmore and myself are equally enthusiastic about the tour. 'At Gallipoli in the Shrapnel Valley Cemetery we'll visit the grave of J.D. Burns after whom the school's most prestigious literary prize is named', Mrs Westmore commented. J.D. Burns died aged nineteen in September 1915 having already achieved fame for his poem 'To England'.

Naturally, the touring party of students, staff and other members of the Scotch Family will be ever conscious of the experiences of

Sir John Monash. Sir John served at Gallipoli, but his greatest contribution to the allied war effort was generally agreed to have been in France, particularly at Villers-Bretonneux, where he was knighted by King George V in 1918.

After the war Monash wrote of Villers-Bretonneux that, 'I have expressed the opinion that there is no spot on the whole of the tortured soil of France, which is more associated with Australian history and the triumph of Australian soldiers, than Villers-Bretonneux'.

The party will also visit the Belgian town of Ypres to observe the Menin Gate ceremony, before crossing the English Channel to visit the Imperial War Museum in London.

Mr Bruce Brown