Scotch College

Douglas Heywood

Scotch College Vietnam Chronicles

Last year, Patricia Holdaway, a member of the teaching staff here at Scotch College, conducted research into Old Scotch Collegians who served in the Vietnam War. She appealed in Great Scot for veterans to contact her.

Many did. With their help, Patricia has collated a remarkable tapestry of activity by Old Scotch Boys in the Vietnam War.

Although many of our veterans are individually well acknowledged by a grateful nation, up till now Scotch has not gathered the Vietnam contingent into a coherent whole, a roll of honour, with names and exploits, linked affectionately to their youthful beginnings at school.

We would like to do this accurately. OSCA is now driving a project team which is designing a program to activate in 2003, to honour our men. We hope to

• design a curriculum enrichment unit, or units, for Australian History and/or International Studies pupils, focused on the Vietnam War;
• concomitantly research the roles of Old Scotch Collegians in the war; and, in 2003, commission students to liaise with individual veterans, to record their stories and reflections;
• honour Scotch Vietnam servicemen at a special occasion, here at Scotch;
• enrich the senior school library's Vietnam material with a personal collection of Old Boy artifacts - photographs, letters, etc;
• produce written and video material, to augment our Vietnam archives;
• arrange guest speaker occasions, as appropriate and possible, for our veterans.

Many veterans from various branches of the war effort are already on board with this project. If you can augment the compilation of the Scotch Vietnam Chronicles, please contact: Tim Shearer, Executive Director

OSCA Office Scotch College
Morrison St
Hawthorn 3122
Ph: 9810 4302
Fax: 9810 4334
E-mail: tim.shearer@scotch.vic.edu.au