 Digger newspapers of the first world war Graham Seal's survey of first world war diggers newspapers |
Category 1 Journals
The first category contains those publications produced under the most difficult front-line circumstances, sometimes literally 'in the trenches'. The Bran Mash, for example, was produced by the 4th Light Horse on Gallipoli. It was written in pencil on two leaves of official typing paper, apparently duplicated with carbon paper and seems only to have lasted for one issue. With the dateline of' "Anzac Cove", Gallipoli June 15, 1915' The Bran Mash began its first -and last -editorial with 'Whirr-Whiz--BANG!' (a reference to the sound of falling shells, soon to be universally known as 'whizz-bangs') and apologised for the 'lack of conveniences necessary for its completely satisfactory production'. It asked, as most trench newspapers would, for contributions from its readership, and provided a selection of rumours or 'furphies', some basic 'art' (a black oblong titled 'Night' by 0. Keapit-Darke) and 'Original Verse' titled 'The trooper's lament'.4The concentration of these newspapers on rumour and humour indicates their close relation to the oral communication of the diggers on Gallipoli. This informal communication network revolved around furphies, the rumours that flew thick and fast and which are characteristic oral responses to situations of extreme uncertainty and stress.5 Furphies were a continuing preoccupation, even an obsession, in most of the trench papers, regardless of the papers' level of crudeness or refinement In this respect, as well as others, the printed form reflected important aspects of the oral culture from which they had originated.
Furphies were so prevalent that Major Blarney, the 1st Division's intelligence officer, worried about potential damage to the morale of the troops, asked Bean early in June 1915 to 'get out a "furfies gazette", with these furfies so exaggerated as to laugh them out of court'.6 Bean had been impressed with the spontaneous Sniper's Shots, edited by Sergeant Max Noonan for the 6th Battalion, and on II June assisted Noonan in compiling the first Dinkum Oil. 7
Dinkum Oil eschewed verse in favour of a 'Serial Story' and satirical parody advertisements ('To Let -Nice dugout on the skyline. Owner leaving for field hospital'). It also included sections called 'War News' and 'The Reason Why', relating furphies or providing parodies of war news. Humorous line drawings and cartoons were a feature of Dinkum Oil, which was handwritten and reproduced by stencil.
The trench papers were clearly attempts to crystallize aspects of talk and belief (or disbelief) into a slightly more formal mode designed to provide light relief from the desperate circumstances in which the Anzacs found themselves. They also provided a means of mildly criticizing and condemning certain attitudes and actions of officers in an approved forum very much like that of the oral communication network. The advantage of the published version, of course, was that expressions of discontent could be included with some degree of safety, avoiding charges of insubordination. Even if the supervising officer qr censor overseeing the publication would not allow a particular item to be published, its presence informed him of dissatisfaction or criticism from below. In this way these publications sometimes acted as a means of monitoring morale for the officers and as a safety-valve for the gripes and whinges of the ordinary soldier.
 
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