The notoriously dangerous trench warfare of the Western Front took a huge toll on Australian troops during the First World War.
Karen Flynn rattles off the medical afflictions the soldiers endured while serving in France and Belgium as though she, too, was among those young men and women who fought, cooked, nursed, dug trenches and drove ambulances between 1914 and 1918.
“Thirty per cent had trench foot, 20 per cent had lice,” Ms Flynn said.
Four of Ms Flynn’s forebears served on the firing line of the Western Front, and one in the Middle East during the “Great War”. Over the years, the Westmeadows’ resident has felt an increasing desire to preserve their memories, some of which are immortalised in diaries, and commemorate their sacrifices.
About 12 months ago, Ms Flynn formed The Flynn Group, a working party dedicated to hosting a commemorative event on Anzac Day to remember the Diggers.
The group’s first event, Snapshot from a war, will take place at Broadmeadows Town Park on Saturday, 1-5pm, to give visitors some idea of what daily life was like for the 300,000 or so Australians who served on the Western Front.
An original 1916 field ambulance will be on display (the same one featured in the Gallipoli movie) as well as old army uniforms, gas masks and letters.
Choirs will sing the same songs sung by the soldiers in the trenches, including It’s a long way to Tipperary and Rose of Piccardy.
LEST WE FORGET
Related
Poppies from Hume for friend and former foe
Anzac link nurtured by Aitken College students
Anzac Day centenary: How Diggers from the west made their sacrifices
