'Lost Diggers' Presented By Ross Coulthart | Remembrance Day Breakfast 2021

At Military and Emergency Services Health Australia's 14th Annual Remembrance Day Breakfast, Ross Coulthart joined us as to deliver the Keynote presentation.
Ross joined us via video link to share the story of his riveting detective hunt across northern France, which led to the discovery of thousands of photographic glass plates.
The images of many brave soldiers who passed through Vignacourt helped to paint a detailed picture of the Aussie diggers’ time in France.
This collection of images is an incredibly special record which reflects the service and sacrifice of Australian soldiers, and their discovery is regarded as one of the most important First World War findings ever made.

[@BillHalliwell]

G’day M&ESHA, It’s the 15th of July and only today I came across this amazing video of Ross Coulthart’s moving presentation of your Remembrance Day’s keynote presentation last year. I’m a retired journalist who has become a military historian. I can’t begin to tell you how deeply I was moved by the haunting images of ‘The Lost Diggers’ photographs and the fascinating history behind how they were rediscovered.
My own military service was with the peacetime RAAF which started just before we began organising to withdraw from Vietnam. Although I had put my name down for a posting to an operational or base squadron in Vietnam, by the time I had finished my basic training and a couple of courses it was too late to be deployed.
Back to the time of WW1 or ‘The Great War’, my father was born in 1900 in Warrnambool; coming from a family of 12 children. My mother’s family, the Tomlinsons of Hobart, had 10 children. Out of those 22 related children 6 of the boys and Grandpa Tomlinson served in ‘The Great War’.
Our combined families went on to have later generations who served in WW2 and Korea in Army and the RAAF. My elder brother was in the RAAF; joining about 15 years before I took the oath. Our entire, extended family was, and still is, proud of our connections to the ADF.
I certainly wish I’d heard of M&ESHA before now. I would like to learn more about it and, perhaps, do anything I can to help my former brothers and sisters in uniform.
It is no understatement to say I’m surprised, almost shocked, that I’m the first comment on this RUclips video.
I am also taken aback to note that I am only the 60th viewer of this outstanding and important slice of Australian military history. These images prove beyond doubt the adage that a picture is worth a thousand words. It will be some time indeed before the faces and eyes of those exhausted, war weary Diggers will leave my consciousness.
Of course, when we were doing our 14-year part time research project for our proposed documentary series on Field Marshal Sir Thomas Albert Blamey; we were generously afforded behind the scenes access to the AWM’s document, sound, picture and film archives. During that time, we saw well over 1000 WW1 images but perhaps that was ‘overload’ because none of them affected me the way the several photographs in this video have.
Thank you so much for this video. If there is anything I can ever do for your organisation please do make contact. I shall learn what I can about M&ESHA online and I’ll be contacting Ross to let him know I’ve seen his excellent presentation.
Cheers and all the very best. Bill & Joanne Halliwell
www.TheBlameyEnigma.com.au