©ABC 2018

Questions for discussion

The Story of WWI

1. In pairs, discuss the Story of WWI story and record the main points of the discussion.

2. In which year did WWI start?

3. What event began WWI?

a. The death of Queen Victoria

b. Germany invading Poland

c. The death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

4. Which country declared war on Serbia?

5. Australia joined the Allies to fight in WWI. True or false?

6. How many Australians fought at Gallipoli?

7. Most of the fighting in WWI happened on the ___________ Front.

8. Describe what life was like for soldiers in the trenches.

9. How was technology used to fight the war?

10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BTN story?

Check out the Remembrance Day resource on the Teachers page.

Do the quiz on the BTN website.

Signing the Armistice

1. Briefly summarise the BTN story.

2. An armistice is an agreement to…

a. Enlist more troops

b. Delay fighting

c. End fighting

3. When was the armistice signed that ended WWI?

4. Where was the armistice signed?

5. What events led to Germany’s surrender in 1918?

6. What was the Treaty of Versailles?

7. WWI is also known as…

a. The Great War

b. The Boer War

c. The War of Remembrance

8. Many historians think the treaty played a big part in the rise of Hitler's Germany and the

start of World War II. True or false?

9. What questions do you have after watching this story? Discuss as a class.

10. What did you learn watching the BTN story?

Get your class involved in BTN’s Ask A Reporter! This week’s topic is the

Armistice story.

Episode 31

6th November 2018

©ABC 2018

Australia’s Recovery from WWI

1. Who have Polly, Maya and Mackenzie been learning about?

2. When did Australian troops return home after WWI?

3. How many Australian men died in WWI?

4. How many returned wounded or ill?

5. How were soldiers and nurses affected by the war?

6. What happened to Polly’s relative?

7. What support did the Government give soldiers and their families?

8. What problems were there with Australia’s economy after the war?

9. What programs were there to help returned soldiers find work?

10. What was surprising about this story?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Remembrance Day History

1. Retell the BTN Remembrance Day History story using your own words.

2. What has the Bridgewater community built?

3. Do you think war memorials and monuments are important? Give reasons for your answer.

4. What piece of music is played on Remembrance Day?

5. In 1919, Remembrance Day was called ________________ Day.

6. Who suggested the tradition of silence on Remembrance Day?

7. How many minutes of silence were originally held to mark the anniversary?

a. One

b. Two

c. Five

8. Which poem inspired the tradition of wearing red poppies on Remembrance Day?

9. What other customs or traditions are part of Remembrance Day?

10. How did the story make you feel?

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

Remembrance Day Poppies

1. Discuss the Remembrance Day Poppies story with another student.

2. In which country is the area of Flanders?

3. How did Colonel John McCrae come to write the poem In Flanders Fields?

4. What does the poppy symbolise?

5. Illustrate an aspect of the poem In Flanders Fields.

6. Why are the students in the BTN story decorating poppies?

7. What messages are the students writing on the back of the poppies?

8. What message would you write?

9. Do you think it’s important to commemorate Remembrance Day every year? Explain your

answer.

10. Create your own Remembrance Day poppy. Watch the tutorial and follow the steps.

Write a message about the story and post it in the comments section on the story page.

©ABC 2018

Teacher Resource

Remembrance Day

Discuss with students what they know about Remembrance Day. Use the

following questions to help guide discussion:

• What is Remembrance Day?

• What is significant about the time and date – 11am on the 11th of

November?

• Why do we observe a minute silence on the 11th of November each

year?

• What does it mean to commemorate? Explore the difference

between commemoration and celebration.

• How do we commemorate Remembrance Day in Australia? What

activities take place?

• What does your school do on Remembrance Day?

• Do you think it’s important to commemorate Remembrance Day?

Why or why not?

• What symbols or traditions are associated with Remembrance Day?

• What does this day mean to you? Make a list of words that describe

the day.

Glossary

Students develop a glossary of words about Remembrance Day. Below are

some words to get you started. Add words and meanings to your glossary as

you come across unfamiliar words.

• Armistice

• Tribute

• Commemorate

• Enlist

• Service

• Camaraderie

• Allied nations

• Veteran

• Memorial

Remembrance Day – BTN stories

See below for a collection of BTN stories about Remembrance Day and

WWI. After watching any one of the BTN videos ask students to respond to

the discussion questions which can be found on the story page.

Episode 31

6th November 2018

Students will investigate the significance of Remembrance Day and Australia’s involvement in WWI. Students will research the history of their community during WWI.

HASS – Year 3

Days and weeks celebrated or

commemorated in Australia

(including Australia Day, Anzac

Day, and National Sorry Day) and

the importance of symbols and

emblems.

HASS – Years 5 and 6

Sequence information about

people’s lives, events,

developments and phenomena

using a variety of methods including

timelines.

Locate and collect relevant

information and data from primary

and secondary sources.

Develop appropriate questions to

guide an inquiry about people,

events, developments, places,

systems and challenges.

©ABC 2018

Video

Video

Video

Video

Australia’s Involvement in WWI

Students will find out more about World War I and create a snapshot of Australia’s involvement in the war.

The following questions can be used to help guide students’ research.

• Why did Australia become involved in World War I?

• How was Australia involved in the war?

• Which events started and ended World War I?

• Where were Australian troops located? Show on a map.

• What were the major battles in the First World War?

• What was the role of women in World War I?

Students can display their research in using Wix, Prezi or Glogster

Your community during WWI

The students in the BTN Remembrance Day Research story

investigated the history of their neighbourhood during World

War I. As a class, discuss what the students discovered

about their community during the war. Students will

research the history of their community during WWI.

Working in small groups, students research the following:

• What do you know about your community during

WWI? How can you find the information? (Consider

local historical societies, RSLs, State Libraries,

Trove). Source: State Library SA

©ABC 2018

• Does your local community have a World War I or II memorial or honour board? Where are they

located?

• How does your local community commemorate Remembrance Day?

Discuss ways for students to display their findings. For example, they could create an exhibition of the

information they’ve found and display it in their classroom, a space in the school or in their local community

(library, community centre).

Research and write a tribute

Students will learn about the experiences of a person involved in World War I and write a tribute. They can

choose a family member (ask parents or grandparents about family members who were involved), a friend’s

family member or a person they have read about.

Before students write their tributes, they can watch the following BTN stories to see how other kids in

Australia are paying tribute to those who fought in World War I.

• Australia's Recovery from WWI

• Remembrance Day Poppies

After watching the BTN videos, ask students to respond to the discussion questions which can be found on

the story page.

Students will imagine what life was like for the person they have chosen and write a letter explaining their

experiences (including what they are doing, the living conditions and how they feel). Students will use their

research findings to support their writing. Include photographs, drawings and or maps.

Students will reflect on their learning during this activity and respond to the following questions.

• How did you feel about this activity?

• How do primary sources (for example photos, letters, diaries and official documents) help you

understand what might have happened at a place in time?

• What questions do you have about the topic?

Further Investigation

If possible, arrange an excursion to your local war memorial. Some students may be

able to trace members of their families on local memorials. Encourage students to

describe what they can see (e.g. lists of names, dates and symbols). Ask questions

during the excursion:

• Why are there lists of names?

• When was the memorial built?

• What do the symbols mean?

• Why did people want to build a war memorial?

©ABC 2018

Images from 11th November 1918

Below are four photographs taken on the 11th of November 1918. Students will look at the images and then

respond to the following questions:

• What is happening in the image?

• Where do you think it was taken?

• How do you think they might be feeling?

• Is there a message about war that comes across in the image?

• What question/s would you like to ask the people in the image?

• Create a caption for each image.

After students have responded to the above questions, click on the link for each image to find out exactly

what is happening and compare to their responses.

Source – Australian War Memorial (link to image)

Source – Australian War Memorial (link to image)

Source – Australian War Memorial (link to image)

Source – Australian War Memorial (link to image)

©ABC 2018

Poetry

In most ceremonies of remembrance there is a reading of an appropriate poem designed to help the listener

understand the experiences of service people and their relatives in wartime. Read the In Flanders Fields

poem to your class.

Discuss with students:

• How did you feel listening to the poem?

• What words are used in the poem to convey feeling and emotion?

• What images does the poem evoke? Illustrate an aspect of the poem.

• Does the poem rhyme or not?

• Did you notice any patterns in the poem? For example, verses or line structure.

Students will then write their own short poem about Remembrance Day. Make a classroom poetry book

using the student’s poems.

Customs and Traditions

Students will investigate the customs and traditions associated with Remembrance Day in Australia. As a

class, students will brainstorm a list of customs and traditions that are associated with Remembrance Day.

For example, the laying of wreaths, the last post, a period of silence, the rouse, red poppies, the unknown

soldier and flags at half-mast. Visit this Army website to learn more about customs of the Australian Army.

Students will choose one or more of the following activities.

The Last Post

As a class listen to a recording of the Last Post

Royal Australian Air Force, The Last Post (YouTube)

• How did listening to the Last Post make you feel?

• What does it signify?

• Research its history – why was it used by the military during war?

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place: and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

John McCrae (1872–1918)

©ABC 2018

• How is the Last Post used in ceremonies today?

• How does the timing of the Last Post differ from the Rouse?

Watch ABC Education’s The Going Down of the Sun video as a class

and then respond to the Things to think about questions listed on the

page.

What is the Last Post? Read about the significance of the bugle call on

the Army website.

As a class, watch BTN’s Last Post story. Meet Jordan who had a big job

to do on Anzac Day playing ‘The Last Post’ at a commemorative

service.

The Rouse

Students will research the significance of the Rouse. Visit the Australian

War Memorial website to learn more about the Rouse and what it

symbolises.

As a class find and listen to a recording of the Rouse and then respond

to the following:

• How did listening to the Rouse make you feel?

• During Remembrance Day commemorations when is the Rouse

sounded?

• Why is it called the “rouse”?

• What is the name of the instrument that is used to play the Rouse?

Illustrate.

• What is the historical significance of the Rouse?

• What does the Rouse symbolise?

Red Poppies

Students will find out more about red poppies and what they symbolise.

• Why are red poppies a part of Remembrance Day and ANZAC

Day observances?

• What does the red poppy symbolise?

• Where would you see a red poppy on Remembrance Day?

• What is the Roll of Honour?

How to make a poppy tutorial

Follow BTN’s poppy making tutorial, create a poppy and then create a

display/installation in your school. (insert link)

A period of silence

Students will respond to the following questions:

• Why is a period of silence (usually 1 or 2 minutes) included in

Remembrance Day commemorations?

• How did this custom originate? What British king initiated the 2-

minute silence?

Visit the Australian War Memorial website to learn more about the

period of silence and what it symbolises.

©ABC 2018

Armistice Day Super Quiz

Get your class to take part in this week’s special Armistice

Centenary quiz. Download the Armistice Day Quiz Questions

template for your students to write down their answers while

watching BTN.

Note: These quiz questions are to be used in conjunction with

viewing BTN’s Armistice Special.

Australian War Memorial - Origins of Remembrance Day

https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/remembrance-day/traditions

Australian War Memorial – Customs and Traditions

https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/customs-and-ceremony

Australian War Memorial – The Armistice of 1918

https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/armistice/armistice-of-1918

©ABC 2018

Armistice Day Quiz Questions

These quiz questions are to be used in conjunction with viewing BTN’s Armistice Day special

program. Pause the video after each question to allow time for students to answer.

Questions Your Answer

1. How long was WWI?

2 years

4 years

Or 6 years

2. Where was most of the fighting?

Europe

Africa

3. Were aeroplanes used in WWI?

4. What were the names of the two sides that took part?

5. How many Australian nurses volunteered to serve?

50

900

3000

Questions Your Answer

6. What time was the Armistice declared?

Midnight

11am

1pm

7. What is an armistice? Is it an agreement to:

Hand over arms

Delay fighting for a week

End fighting

8. How many minutes of silence were originally held to mark

the anniversary?

©ABC 2018

One

Two

or Five

9. Which instrument is the Last Post played on?

Clarinet

Bugle

Saxophone

10. What is the age of the youngest Australian soldier on the

Roll of Honour for WWI?

Questions Your Answer

11. What is it called when you use these characters to

represent numbers?

12. Which of these animals were used by soldiers during the

war?

13. Which of these things was invented during World War I?

Bicycle

Computers

Daylight Saving

14. Which of these things were banned during the war?

Independent reporters

Cameras

Both

15. Where is the Australian War Memorial located today?

Canberra

Sydney

Or Hobart

Total score

©ABC 2018

BTN: Episode 31 Transcript 6/11/18

On the 11th of November 1918, the First World War was brought to a close. Now 100 years on, we're taking a special look back at this momentous event and how it changed Australia forever.

Hi, my name's Amelia Moseley. Thanks for joining me for this very special episode marking the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that brought an end to WWI. Throughout today's show, we'll find out how peace was actually negotiated, see the reaction to the news both here and overseas and we'll discover what kids are doing to commemorate the date today.

The Story of WWI

Reporter: Matt Holbrook

INTRO: You'll see all that and more soon, but first, let's go back to find out what caused World War I in the first place.

It was a war that changed the world forever. But it may never have started, had it not been for this guy, Gavrilo Princip. On June 28, 1914, he assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, of Austria, and it started a massive chain reaction. Austria declared war on Serbia. And countries supporting both sides came to help. Suddenly a small war became a big one. On one side were the Allies, including countries like France, Britain and Russia. On the other were the Central Powers. Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire, which is now Turkey. At the time, Australia was still a member of the British Empire, so they were part of the Allies. The word went out for volunteers, and more than four hundred thousand young men enlisted. Some young teenagers also wanted to fight, so they lied about their age to get in. On April 25, 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers, by then known as the ANZACS, landed at Gallipoli. More than 50,000 Australians fought in the eight-month long campaign. It's remembered as the first real battle we took part in as a nation. But most of the fighting didn't happen here. It happened on the Western Front, in France. From 1914 until the end of the war, both sides dug and fought from large trench and dugout systems. Trenches helped protect soldiers from guns and artillery, but life could be tough. A big threat was disease. The trenches weren't clean, there wasn't much medical help, and at times it got really cold. Many soldiers died because of the conditions they lived in, and the spread of disease. As the war went on, more technology was designed to break the deadlock. The first fighter planes battled over the trenches, while bombers made raids behind enemy lines. The first ever tanks hit the frontlines to combat trench warfare. There was now fighting on the ground, in the air, and at sea. In April 1917, America entered the war assisting the Allies. Hundreds of thousands of troops flooded the front lines. By early 1918, Germany, and its allies, had defeated Russia on the Eastern Front, and made a big push in France. But Germany's attack failed. The Allies mounted their own offensive, retaking territory from Germany. The tide was turning.

©ABC 2018

Super Quiz

Okay, now throughout today's show we'll also be testing your knowledge about WWI with a quiz.

There will be 15 questions all up. I'll give you the answers after each one.

Here's the first 5.

1) How long was WWI? 2 years 4 years Or 6 years

The answer is: 4 years

2) Where was most of the fighting?

Was it here in Europe or here in Africa?

The answer is: Europe

3) Were aeroplanes used in WWI?

Yes, even though they hadn't long been invented. Here's a look at some of the models used.

4) What were the names of the two sides that took part?

They were the Allied and Central Powers

5) How many Australian nurses volunteered to serve?

50

900

3000

The answer is: 3000 nurses

Signing the Armistice

Reporter: Nic Maher

INTRO: Now, after 4 years of fighting an armistice was finally declared on the 11th of November 1918. But how was such a tricky agreement negotiated? Here's the full story. It wasn't a fighter plane, a tank, or a battleship that spelled the end of the First World War. But a signature, in a train carriage, made on November 11, 1918. By the second half of 1918, Germany was in big trouble. It had defeated Russia, but it was losing in France, German forces were being pushed back, and its leaders no longer believed they could win the war. Defeat was coming. One by one, Germany's allies, including Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, and Austria-Hungary, pulled out of the fighting, and signed formal agreements to stop the conflict. That's called an armistice, and Germany was ready to sign one, too. The Allies, led by Marshal Ferdinand Foch, came up with the agreement. It called for fighting to end, for Germany to evacuate, hand over all its weapons, and return its prisoners. Germany signed it on the eleventh of November 1918, in General Foch's railway carriage, with the armistice officially coming into effect, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It would be the end of fighting, for a while at least.

©ABC 2018

In the coming years, Germany would be forced to sign more treaties including the Treaty of Versailles, which officially blamed Germany for the war, and forced it to make big repayments to the Allies. Many historians think those terms played a big part in the rise of Hitler's Germany, and the start of World War II just 20 years later. But at the time, everyone was ready for the Great War to end. News spread that war was over. Queensland Government Gazette: Germany has signed the armistice with the Allies, and that consequently the war that has devastated the world for more than four years is at an end.

The guns fell silent, and on the frontlines, troops cheered and danced. In London, in Paris, in New York, people celebrated, too. After more than four years of conflict, war was finally over.

Ask a Reporter

Do you have more questions about the Armistice? Ask me live during ask a reporter. Head to our website for all the details.

Australia’s Recovery from WWI

Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: Now as you've seen, World War I had a massive impact on Australia even though it was fought on the other side of the world. So how did such a young nation recover from the loss of so many? Take a look.

Polly, Maya and Mackenzie have been learning about their great, great, sometimes even great, great, great relatives who fought in the Great War. POLLY: My great, great Grandpa's name was Douglas Guthrie, he was a private in World War One and he enlisted when he was 21. He got captured as a prisoner of war. When I first saw this photo, I thought he looked really brave. For Maya, it was her great, great, great Uncle who she discovered was Indigenous Australian. MAYA: His name was Edward Heath and he was 30 when he enlisted. I think he felt really brave going to war because he was probably trying to prove that Aboriginals can do what white people do and shouldn't be treated any differently just because they're a different colour. And for Mackenzie, it was her great, great grandpa too, but he was actually British fighting alongside Australians. MACKENZIE: My great, great grandpa was George Thomas Bridgenton. He joined the Royal Garrison Artillery as a gunner in 1914 and he was 30 when WWI started and he said that his scariest experience was running new telephone wires to the front trenches after the old ones had been blown up. Polly and Maya's relatives, are two of the more than 400,000 Australian men who enlisted in World War One. By the time the war ended, around 60 thousand of those men had died and about 170,000 of them were left wounded or ill.

©ABC 2018

It wasn't actually until 1919 - months and months after the war ended - that troops finally started coming home. But it wasn't easy for many soldiers and nurses to forget what they'd lived through. POLLY: It would be hard to just get back from the war and go on with normal life cause you've got the memories and the wounds and all of the injuries and stuff. While Polly's great, great grandpa made it home to New South Wales after being taken prisoner in Germany, he was left permanently injured. POLLY: It was before the war that this was taken because after the war he had those three fingers amputated. Australia had to work out some ways to help the survivors, the wounded, the war widows and their families to recover. So, the government decided to offer free medical care, pensions and places to live to permanently injured or sick service people, and carnivals and parades were held to raise money for them. Whole organisations were even created to defend war veterans' rights and help them get back to normal life. You've probably heard of the Returned and Services League, or RSL, that still exists today. There were other struggles the country had to face too. Many Australian industries weren't doing so well. People didn't have as much money, and jobs were way harder to find. So, programs were created to help the returned soldiers learn new skills, like construction, mechanics or even haircutting and farming too. In fact, state governments offered some soldiers a small piece of land to farm if they wanted to. The war touched so many lives in so many different ways but while it wasn't easy, many of them were able to get through it. POLLY: My great, great grandfather he used to live behind a shop when he was a child, so they went back there and they started it as a shop and then they had four children, all boys and then the youngest one was my great grandfather. MACKENZIE: After the war, he would've gone back to England and had a family and then his grandson, my grandfather was the first person in my family to come to Australia. MAYA: I think it's important to remember them because they did so much for our country and lots of people fought and didn't survive very long and they've helped us go on to have what we have today.

Super Quiz

Time for quiz again now.

6) What time was the Armistice declared? Midnight 11am 1pm

The answer is: 11am.

7) What is an armistice? Is it an agreement to: Hand over arms Delay fighting for a week End fighting

©ABC 2018

An armistice is an agreement to end fighting. 8) How many minutes of silence were originally held to mark the anniversary? One Two or Five

The answer is: Two minutes

9) Which instrument is the Last Post played on? Clarinet Bugle Saxophone

It’s played on the bugle.

10) What is the age of the youngest Australian soldier on the Roll of Honour for WWI? The answer is: 14 years and nine months. His name was James Martin.

Remembrance Day History

Reporter: Ben Nielsen

INTRO: These days, we all know the 11th of November is Remembrance Day. But it hasn't always been called that and the way it's commemorated has also changed over the years. Let's find out how. The community of Bridgewater in the Adelaide Hills has never had a proper war memorial. So, these kids and others from the local school, decided to design and build a new one. After five long years of work it's now nearly finished. REPORTER: Can you tell me what's left to do?

IZZY: There's going to be a boomerang with a rising sun at the back, and a sign with Remember

on it down the front and some fences and pavers.

REPORTER: The boomerang with the rising sun, what does that mean?

IZZY: That symbolises that all Australians part of the war.

Memorials and monuments like one this are a common feature of Remembrance Day

commemorations right around the world.

At 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, people gather at places like the Shrine of

Remembrance in Melbourne or the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. They stand still and

silent and then listen to a bugler playing The Last Post. People have been marking Remembrance

Day like this since 1919. But back then, it was actually called Armistice Day because it marked the

anniversary of the day the armistice was signed and the first World War finally ended. At the time,

hundreds of people gathered in London to celebrate the end of the conflict and to remember those

who died. People did the same here in Australia.

The tradition of silence on Remembrance Day was actually suggested by an Aussie journalist

Edward Honey. He thought it'd be a 'sacred' gesture to acknowledge those who died fighting for

©ABC 2018

peace. Britain’s king at the time, King George the fifth liked the idea and declared two minutes'

silence across the British Empire.

Since the first Armistice ceremony, people have added new traditions to the commemorations, like

wearing red poppies. That was inspired by a poem called In Flanders Fields which describes the

poppies that sprung up on abandoned battlefields in France and Belgium.

Later on in 1945 when World War Two ended, the Australian and British governments changed the

name of Armistice Day to Remembrance Day instead so that the people who served in all wars

could be remembered together. The Last Post, poetry, poppies and a bunch of other traditions are

still important parts of the memorials that happen today.

Along with places like this in the Adelaide Hills that will proudly form the centrepiece of these kids'

commemorations for years to come.

ISABELLE: Well I did have a great grandad, my mum did and he fought in WWI. I’ve never actually

thought of him as a soldier before and now there's a place here, I find it's easier.

JACKSON: It makes me feel happy because it's a great place to meet up and it's in a good spot.

IZZY: It's special to me because it's a place not just to remember but it's a place for everyone. It's

not just for one subject, it's sort of a place where you can do anything really.

Super Quiz

And back to the quiz now.

11) What is it called when you use these characters to represent numbers?

Roman Numerals

12) Which of these animals were used by soldiers during the war?

If you picked pigeon, you've got it.

13) Which of these things was invented during World War I?

Bicycle

Computers

Daylight Saving

It was daylight saving.

14) Which of these things were banned during the war?

Independent reporters

Cameras

Both

The answer is both were banned.

15) And finally, where is the Australian War Memorial located today?

Canberra

©ABC 2018

Sydney

Or Hobart

The Australian War Memorial is in Canberra.

Remembrance Day Poppies

Reporter: Emma Davis

INTRO: Finally, today, as you saw their poppies are an important part of Remembrance Day commemorations. So, we thought we'd visit a school that's spent the past few months colouring in thousands of paper poppies. Check it out.

This classroom is chock full of poppies. But this isn't an art lesson.

REPORTER: So, Lulu can you tell me what you're doing right now please?

LULU: I'm colouring in these poppies for Remembrance Day.

REPORTER: Do you mind if I join you?

LULU: Yeah.

REPORTER: Thanks. Do you know the whole poppies story, how it started?

LULU: There was a man who went to Flanders Fields after the war and saw the only living thing

there was red poppies and so he wrote a poem about Flanders Fields.

That man's name was Colonel John McCrae. He was a Canadian medical officer and he was

stationed in the area of Flanders, which is in Belgium. Near the end of 1914, one of Colonel

McCrae's friends was killed. When they buried him on the battlefield, Colonel McCrae noticed that

poppies had already started to bloom between the graves and that marked the beginning of a

poem he later wrote:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow, between the crosses, row on row.

It wasn't long before that poem was world famous and it inspired many people to use the poppy as

a symbol of support for the allied forces. They were used to fundraise for war veterans, their

families and even restoration projects to help fix areas in France that were destroyed during the

war. These days, you still see them, often on people's clothing or at sites of remembrance, like war

memorials. This class will use these poppies for something different though.

REPORTER: Amelie Rose why are you coloring in poppies today?

AMELIE-ROSE: Well, we're colouring poppies because at 11 o'clock on the 11th of November a

plane will be dropping 58 thousand poppies onto one of the roads near the city and the poppies

represent the 58 thousand soldiers, the ANZAC soldiers that died.

To add to their meaning, these girls have written messages on the back of each one. Some are

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about remembering the past while other messages are the names of people who fought in the First

World War.

REPORTER: What are you writing?

ALAYA: I've written a quote by the Queen which is grief is the price we pay for love.

REPORTER: What kind of messages are you writing on the back of the poppies?

SOPHIE G: Well I'm writing lest we forget or hope or names of people I know who went to war.

REPORTER: What kind of names, are they people you researched?

SOPHIE G: My great grandad Bill fought in the war and his name's William Setchell so I've put that

on a couple.

REPORTER: Why do you guys think it's important that we commemorate Remembrance Day and

think about it every year?

LUCY: It's important to remember Remembrance Day, remember all the people who died and all

the families who lost people because it's really important to understand how that affected so many

people.

SONAKSHI: I think it's important because if they didn't fight in the war or if they didn't do what they

did that time, we might be living differently to how we are right now, and it could affect our lives.

Closer

I've got mine on and you can wear yours on the 11th too. Well that brings us to the end of today's

Armistice Special. Thanks for joining me and I'll see you next time.