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World War I diaries to go online

The World's largest collection of World War I diaries - kept in the British National Archives - are going online.

The Roll of Honour during Remebrance Day ceremonies at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. Remembrance Day marks the anniversary of the armistice which ended the First World War (1914–18).  (AAP Image/Lukas Coch)
(AAP Image/Lukas Coch) Source: AAP

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By Laurie Lawira

Source: SBS


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The project here, called The ANZAC connection, is cataloguing war diaries to preserve intimate accounts of the war for future generations.

Personal testimonies, written on the frontline by World War I soldiers, have been kept out of sight in archives. But now they're becoming readily available to the public.

An extract from one reads: "By 9:30 am, attack was completely repulsed. Afternoon was taken up repairing trenches. More barbed wire was also put out in front of trenches. Enemy continued shelling intermittently."

One hundred years after they were written, these accounts help to complete a picture of what life was like in the trenches.

"During the last few months the strengths of the various units weakened considerably owing to demoralising action," read another.

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More than 5,500 boxes of war diaries from the British National Archives will go online.

The British project, dubbed Operation War Diary, uses social media and draws on volunteers to log and mine the thousands of diary entries to find valuable information about what happened.

Tactics and combat accounts are not the only things recorded, but weather, food and land conditions as well.

 


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