A WRITTEN IN THE TRENCHES
Digger newspapers of the first world war

Graham Seal's survey of first world war diggers newspapers
or trench journals as they are often called,
provides insights into the creation of 'digger culture'.

Notes

  1. David A Kent, 'Troopship literature: "A life on the ocean wave", 1914-19', Joumal of the Australian War Memorial, no.10, April 1987, pp. 3-10.

  2. C.E.W. Bean (comp.), The Anzac book, London, 1916. See also David A Kent, 'The Anzac book and the Anzac legend: C.E.W. Bean as editor and image-maker', Australian historical studies, vol. 21, no.84, April 1985, pp. 376-90.

  3. According to Bean's diary, the suggestion was made to him on 12 November 1915; see K. Fewster (ed), Gallipoli correspondent the frontline diary of CE W Bean, Sydney, 1983, p. 179. A furphy is a rumour or false story, after the name of the manufacturer of water carts; soldiers gathered around the carts, which became centres of rumour and gossip.

  4. Bran Mash, no.1, 15 June 1915 (AWM SI14).

  5. See D. Decotterd, 'Gossip, rumour and legend: a plea for a psychological and cross-cultural approach', in G. Bennett and P. Smith (eds), Monsters with iron teeth' perspectives on contemporary legend, vol. 3, Sheffield, 1988, p.240.
  6. Bean,7 June 1915, in Fewster, p. 126. This may be the earliest recorded use of 'furphy', pre-dating the earliest entry in W.S. Ramson (ed.), The Australian national dictionary, by three weeks.

  7. Dinkum Oil, nos. 1-7, 1915. Handwritten, drawn and stencilled on one side of foolscap sheet (A WM 419/46/30 Acc. 21435). Despite its origins in the official desire to influence the oral culture of the digger, I have left it in the first category as its extant issues show no sign of official influence.

  8. Honk, no.10, 30 Sept 1915 (AWM S508).

  9. Ibid., no.9, 29 Aug. 1916, p. 1.

  10. Both Aussie and Kia-Ora Cooee have been reprinted for a general readership, Aussie in 1985 and Kia-ora Cooee in 1981.

  11. Digger, publication of the Australian Base Depots, France (AWM SI86); Rising Sun, no.13, 8 Feb. 1917, p. 3 (AWM S508).

  12. Ibid. For other examples see Rising Sun, no.12, 5 Feb. 1917, p. 3, and The Anzac book.

  13. See, for instance, Digger, vol. 1, nos. 24, 25 & 26, Jan. 1919 and Aussie, nos. 2,3 & 4, Feb.-ApriI1918 and nos. 7-10, Sept 1918-Jan. 1919. For a discussion of the term 'digger', see also W.S. Ramson (ed.), The Australian national dictionary, Oxford University Press, 1988. Also Eric Partridge, Frank Honeywood private: a personal record of the 1914-18 war (first pub. 1929), Melbourne, 1987, with introduction and annotations by Geoffrey Serle, p.71. ' Another Alphabet' appeared in Rising Sun, no.13, 8 Feb. 1917; it had been contributed to The Anzac book but was not published - note that the letter 'U' was either not included; or was the victim of a front-line typographical error.

  14. Kent, 'Troopship literature. ..', p. 10.

  15. Aussie- The Cheerful Monthly (AWM 840).

  16. Such as Queensland Digger, published by the Queensland branch of the RSSlLA and which contained numerous complaints and dissatisfactions.

  17. Patches, Australian Army Medical Corps interstate reunion, Adelaide 1938, souvenir booklet, pp. 153 -4 and throughout (AWM R940.47594 Al12).
  18. Delly Mel, 21 April 1938 (AWM S(n) 56/2).

  19. See D. Fancke (comp.),Mud and blood in the field, Hughesdale, Vic., 1984, p. 89 (Tobruk, 20 June 1941). This book is a reprint of all newsletters issued by the 2/23 Australian Infantry Battalion -' Albury's Own' - from December 1940 to August 1945.

  20. Ringo, Nui Dat,vol. 2, no.10, 13 Aug.1967 (np) (AWM S503 ). 'Gutser' (or 'Gutzer', 'Gutzah ') was probably adopted by the Australians from British army slang, see E. Fraser & J. Gibbons ( comps ), Soldier and sailor words and phrases, London, 1925, p. 113. The term seems to have dropped from British armed forces vernacular by the 1939-45 war, according to E. Partridge (ed.), A dictionary of forces' slang 1939-1945, London, 1948.
This webpage © 2003 Simply Australia