A Study Guide by Roger Stitson

© ATOM 2014 A STUDY GUIDE BY ROGER STITSON http://www.metromagazine.com.au ISBN: 978-1-74295-401-1 http://www.theeducationshop.com.au General introductory note This study guide contains a range of class (L-R) WILLIAM UPJOHN ‘THE BUILDER’, JOHN CONCANNON ‘THE BOFFIN’, activities relevant to each specific episode. ANTHONY MILLER ‘THE BOMBARDIER’ - PHOTO BY GEOFFREY ELLIS. The activities on each episode are in self- contained sections throughout the study Pty Ltd Valour Images © For unless otherwise stated. Photographs by Stefan Postles guide. As some topics are relevant to all the episodes, there is an introductory section on primary and secondary source material and, later in the study guide, a Series Synopsis section devoted to a general overview of the entire series. There is also a dedicated he Boffin, the Builder and the Bombardier is Media Studies section of activities a fun and fast-paced series of eight ten-min- relevant to the construction, purposes and Tute episodes, in which three mates decon- outcomes of the series. struct history by reconstructing the devices that Episode synopses at the beginning of each made it. Each episode sees our characters uncover section are taken from the series press kit. the secrets of the past by immersing themselves in it – dressing up, with often comedic results – and blowing up ... sometimes just for the fun of it. But beneath the good humour is a well-researched documentary with experimental archaeology – the replication of objects and methods of the past, to Curriculum links • Draw up a list of examples of primary and sec- better interpret and understand them – at its core. ondary sources. This study guide is The audience will get a laugh and, at program’s If you have already viewed the episodes in mainly aimed at middle • end, an insight into history they may not have had this series, comment on the type and range of and upper-secondary before. school levels, with primary and secondary historical sources which relevance to English, are either referred to or shown on screen in the History (including eight episodes. Introduction to the series World War I - • Discuss the advantages and disadvantages Gallipoli, the medieval of using and relying on primary and second- Primary and secondary sources era, the American ary sources in the study of history. Comment, Civil War, and the for example, on the use of personal diaries, Carry out the following activities, which may pro- Napoleonic Wars) newspaper reports and letters to the editor, vide useful background when viewing and discuss- and History Method, photographs, military maps, and published ing each episode in the series. Note that episode Science (including biographies and autobiographies in book form. 2014 © ATOM SCREEN EDUCATION four, ‘The Mad Minute’, also examines the concept Physics), Maths, • Note that the Australian War Memorial contains of primary and secondary sources. and Media Studies. a collection of World War I diaries. These are a Teachers may also find valuable source of primary records (see ‘AWM the series relevant to • Define and explain the difference between primary sources – samples of WWI diaries’ in aspects of Problem a primary historical source and a secondary website references for this section). Specific Solving, and Personal historical source. (See ‘Primary and secondary diary entries may be found in the website refer- and Interpersonal sources’ and ‘Historical method’ in the ‘General Development ences for episode one. background’ section of website references.) (Teamwork). 2 of battlefield resourcefulness, the boys take the completed weapon to the firing range and ... man- age to deliver consistent accuracy at 100 yards. But, if the periscope rifle is a precision sniper’s in- strument, they should be able to hit targets at three times that range. Here it seems Dr Bean’s historic claims of the system’s range have been exagger- ated, with the boys failing to hit anything. As they pack up to head home, the morale boost- ing benefits of embellishing the weapon’s effectiveness are considered. However, they realise the truest measure of Beech’s periscope rifle is not in how many it killed but how many it saved in allowing its operators to keep their heads down. ANTHONY MILLER Themes and issues • At the beginning of the first episode the nar- Episode 1 rator says, ‘The way we look at history often depends on who we are and what we’re inter- ‘HIT WITHOUT BEING HIT’ ested in’. Discuss in class the relevance and the importance of this statement in defining and Synopsis understanding the very concept of the study of History. The periscope rifle: that iconic piece of Australian To develop and expand upon your discussion ingenuity manufactured on the beaches of Gallipoli of where we, as individuals, stand on various itself. Hailed as the ultimate tool in the sniper’s ar- historical questions, you should try to refer to senal, it provided a way to hit without being hit. But various examples of where historical interpreta- could a .303 and some jerry-rigged mirrors pilfered tions of a particular issue or event may differ. from the navy’s wardrooms really have been the You might begin with some relatively ‘simple’ edge in the Anzac’s campaign? divergences of historical opinion towards a sports event; look, for example, at the English With the Turks holding the high ground at Gallipoli, and Australian interpretations of the ‘Bodyline’ firing over the top of the trench meant exposure test cricket series of 1932–1933. Can you find and almost certain death for the Anzacs. One man, any differences in interpretation as to whether William Charles Bullock Beech, came up with a solution. But, as Will (the builder) gets on with WILLIAM UPJOHN building the reconstruction, John reveals the provenance of the design is far from certain—not to mention the accounts of its accuracy. It seems that the academic and the warrior are saying two different things, with the official Anzac historian, Dr Charles Bean, deeming the periscope rifle to be an accurate and deadly weapon, and legendary sniper Jesse Wallingford claiming they were 2014 © ATOM SCREEN EDUCATION rubbish. Will completes the build and the boys find there’s just one problem – it doesn’t fire. Turns out they’ve overlooked a crucial aspect of the weapon system: how do you pull a trig- ger when you can’t reach the gun? As the ar- chives turn up the answer in a stunning piece 3 White’s assertions about the periscope rifle’s effectiveness. • Comment on the validity of the team’s method- ology in testing Bean’s and White’s assertions. • Explain the team’s findings as to whether Bean’s or White’s views about the periscope rifle were correct. • Towards the end of the episode the team judges the usefulness of the periscope rifle at Gallipoli in a very surprising way. Explain the team’s final historical judgement about the periscope rifle and the soldiers who used it. • Plan and write a short story in which the image of a periscope rifle is an important aspect of the narrative. Your story does not necessarily have to be set at Gallipoli in 1915. It might, for example, be a story set in a different era, in which a man, a woman or a child is looking at a photo JOHN CONCANNON of a soldier using a periscope rifle, or reading a diary extract about it. ‘bodyline’ was within the laws and the ‘spirit’ of Episode 2 the game of cricket? If so, why are these issues viewed differently? Are they presented purely ‘UP, UP AND A WAY’ from the viewpoint of national allegiance? You might extend these types of questions into Synopsis more complex areas, such as an examination of the ways in which the British colonisation of The Chinese flying fire lance. Appearing on the Australia have been interpreted over the past battlefield in the thirteenth century, this poisoned- two centuries. Another general example is tipped missile was powered by a propellant known whether British and Australian historians have only to the Chinese as an elixir of immortality. But differed over the way in which they’ve interpret- was this the world’s first weaponised rocket? And ed the role of the British military commanders was it really capable of flying 450 metres? during the Gallipoli campaign of 1915. • Before we look at the divergent historical inter- As John explains to Will and Tony, China in 1250 pretations of the effectiveness of the periscope was the most technologically advanced culture the rifle at Gallipoli, answer the following questions world had ever seen — inventing items ranging from episode one: from the compass to toilet paper — all underpinned o Who invented the periscope rifle? by a belief system that encompassed theology, o Why was it invented? alchemy, philosophy and science, known as ‘Dao’ o What were the essential features and design or ‘the way’. But was the fire lance another of their of the periscope rifle? many successes? Or was it as erratic and unreli- o How much was the inventor paid, after the able as the critical (and often jealous) European war, for inventing the periscope rifle? accounts recorded? • Describe the differences in interpretation of the effectiveness of the periscope rifle, between of- The boys determine the components of the rocket ficial war historian Charles Bean, and the Anzac from a patchy archaeological record, allowing Will chief of staff, Brudenell White? Discuss why to put together a modern replica of a bipod and you think each had a different viewpoint. (For downpipe, affixed with the twentieth-century ver- more background, and some primary source sion of hide binding – gaffer tape.

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