1 Universitas 21 Phd Scholarship Report Name Aimee Fox-‐Godden

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

1 Universitas 21 Phd Scholarship Report Name Aimee Fox-‐Godden Universitas 21 PhD Scholarship report Name Aimee Fox-Godden Title of thesis ‘Putting knowledge in power’: Inter-theatre learning and knowledge sharing in the British army of the First World War Department History Institution visited University of New South Wales, Canberra Dates of visit Saturday 15 February – Sunday 9 March 2014 For my Universitas21 scholarship, I was hosted by the Australian Centre for the Study of Armed Conflict and Society [ACSACS] at the University of New South Wales, Canberra. ACSACS is at the forefront of research in the fields of military history, innovation, and ethics in Australia. Its close links with the Defence department, including the Australian Defence Force Academy and the Australian military more widely, ensures that the research produced at ACSACS has relevance to current and future conflicts. I was able to draw on this expertise throughout my stay, enabling me to build links with leading academics, such as Professor Jeffrey Grey, Dr John Connor and Dr Craig Stockings. During my time in Canberra, I conducted archival research at the Australian War Memorial and the National Library of Australia. The proximity of ACSACS to these key That’s me! Not looking too jetlagged at all! institutions was a considerable bonus. The research I conducted at these two repositories will strengthen my thesis, giving it a comparative element through its examination of how Australian and British forces learned during the First World War. I was also fortunate enough to give two seminar papers – one at the Australian War Memorial on my PhD research, and the second as part of a half-day colloquium at ACSACS, entitled Great War 100: Reflections on the Centenary of the Great War beyond Australia. The latter enabled me to showcase my historiographical knowledge of the British army in the First World War and the debates emerging in current scholarship on the advent of the Centenary. 1 One of the main reasons that I chose the University of New South Wales as a partner organisation was due to its expertise in the field of conflict studies. Its partnership with the Australian Defence Force and other governmental institutions was important from a networking point of view. Throughout my stay, I had access to a number of notable individuals from the Australian War Memorial, the National Library of Australia, and the Australian Army History Unit who were more than willing to talk through aspects of my research and offer tips. In this respect, the visit met the reasons stated in my application. However, one area that it did fall short on was access to individuals working on ACSACS’ First World War Centenary project: a five volume history of Australia’s involvement in the First World War. This was due to the fact that Australian War Memorial with HMAS Brisbane in foreground researchers were working on this project across the country and not just in Canberra. However, Professor Jeffrey Grey was more than happy to broker an introduction in the future if desired. Not only did the Universitas21 scholarship give me the ability to access key archival material reQuired for my PhD thesis, it also provided me with the opportunity to deliver seminar papers to specialist and non- specialist audiences, as well as enabling me to build links with academics in my field. This was something that I was desirous of in my application and I feel that these desires have been realised. Indeed, these aspects were highlighted as an essential part of my professional training as an historian. I have also built up a network of academics and specialists who are willing to provide advice and guidance on a personal level. I was able to advise these individuals on the vital research carried out by the Centre for War Studies at the University of Birmingham too. This not only raises the research profile of the University, but it also opens up potential avenues for international collaboration in the future. 2 As mentioned above, I gained a number of benefits regarding my future employability. I was able to research in key Australian archival repositories, consulting official documents and personal letters and correspondence, which will give my research an edge over some of the more Anglocentric studies in the field. It also enhanced my knowledge and understanding of the Australian experience of the First World War. Again, this was given additional impetus through conversations with historians such as Dr Peter Pedersen [AWM] and Dr Roger Lee [Australian Army History Unit]. The opportunity to deliver two well- received papers to two very Part of original memorial to the Desert Mounted Corps. The original memorial stood at Port Said, but was destroyed during Suez Crisis, 1956 different audiences enhanced my confidence when speaking publicly. I would very much like to continue collaboration with ACSACS, University of New South Wales along with some of the other organisations that I forged links with, such as the Australian War Memorial. This could be through international working groups, or through the organisation of joint seminars. There was much desire – View from Australian War Memorial down to Parliament: a constant reminder to politicians of the cost of war 3 particularly at a lower level – to press for greater partnership working between students in the UK and Australia. I believe that my visit is the first step in the realisation of these desires and I hope that future Universitas21 scholars from the University of Birmingham seek to build on these baby steps. I would highly recommend any PhD candidates interested in the study of military history, innovation and ethics of past, current and future conflicts to consider applying for a Universitas21 scholarship to ACSACS, University of New South Wales. The institution’s proximity to the key archival repositories in Australia is incredibly useful, along with access to the Australian Defence Force Academy’s library services. Canberra contains other academic and governmental institutions that are producing cutting edge research in conflict studies, such as the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at Australian National University, the Military History Section at the Australian War Memorial, Questacon building at Enlighten Canberra festival and the Australian Army History Unit. There is a collegiate spirit between these different organisations, which I found incredibly useful during my stay. In fact, the only thing that I would have changed about my visit was to have stayed there for longer. I built up some great relationships with fellow students and academics, but only wish I could have had a few extra weeks to delve even deeper into the archives and disseminate my research to a wider audience. 4 .
Recommended publications
  • Anzac Parade and Our Changing Narrative of Memory1
    Anzac Parade and our changing narrative of memory1 IAN A. DEHLSEN Abstract Australian historian Ken Inglis once called Canberra’s Anzac Parade ‘Australia’s Sacred Way’. A quasi-religious encapsulation of the military legends said to define our national character. Yet, it remains to be discussed how the memorials on Anzac Parade have been shaped by these powerful and pervasive narratives. Each memorial tells a complex story, not just about the conflicts themselves but also the moral qualities the design is meant to invoke. The Anzac Parade memorials chart the changing perceptions of Australia’s military experience through the permanence of bronze and stone. This article investigates how the evolving face of Anzac Parade reflects Australia’s shifting relationship with its military past, with a particular emphasis on how shifting social, political and aesthetic trends have influenced the memorials’ design and symbolism. It is evident that the guiding narratives of Anzac Parade have slowly changed over time. The once all-pervasive Anzac legends of Gallipoli have been complemented by multicultural, gender and other thematic narratives more attuned to contemporary values and perceptions of military service. [This memorial] fixes a fleeting incident in time into the permanence of bronze and stone. But this moment in our history—fifty years ago—is typical of many others recorded not in monuments, but in the memories of our fighting men told and retold … until they have passed into the folklore of our people and into the tradition of our countries.2 These were the words of New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister J.R. Marshall at the unveiling of the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial on Anzac Parade, Canberra, in the winter of 1968.
    [Show full text]
  • Land Force Reserves and Homeland Security: Lessons Learned from the Australian Experience
    Journal of Military and Strategic Studies, Winter 2004, Vol. 7, Issue 2 LAND FORCE RESERVES AND HOMELAND SECURITY: LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE Jeffrey Grey, Australian Defence Force Academy Historians are usually wary of the ‘lessons learned’ approach to the past, an approach that military organisations generally find congenial, even natural. Years ago, Sir Michael Howard pointed to the irritation of military people, led to believe that history offered a sure and steady guide to future directions, on discovering that historians are fickle creatures. Having looked for 'wise teachers who will use their knowledge of the past to explain the present and guide him as to the future', writes Howard, what does our eager, would-be uniformed student find instead? Workmen, busily engaged in tearing up what he had regarded as a perfectly decent highway; doing their best to discourage him from proceeding along it at all; and warning him, if he does, that the surface is temporary, that they have no idea when it will be completed, nor where it leads, and that he proceeds at his own risk.1 This is the equivalent, in terms of the information superhighway perhaps, of a web page permanently under construction, or in conference terms, of a Powerpoint presentation without end. In attempting to draw lessons from Australian use of reserve forces in recent deployments overseas, and the implications for homeland defence that arise from them, a number of qualifications and caveats have to be made. Indeed, until very recently much of the evidence on which extrapolations might be based is of a negative kind, making a ‘lessons learned’ approach even more problematic than the 1 Michael Howard, ‘The Lessons of History’, in Michael Howard, The Lessons of History, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992, 12.
    [Show full text]
  • Gates-Stuart and Nguyen Paper ASC 2014
    See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260392919 Understanding Insects: Why Explore Through Science And Art Conference Paper · February 2014 CITATIONS READS 0 109 2 authors: Eleanor Gates-Stuart Chuong V Nguyen Australian National University Australian National University 15 PUBLICATIONS 11 CITATIONS 50 PUBLICATIONS 296 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: KinectFusion for 3D plant modeling View project M A Z O O - Anything but Ordinary View project All content following this page was uploaded by Eleanor Gates-Stuart on 28 February 2014. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are added to the original document and are linked to publications on ResearchGate, letting you access and read them immediately. Understanding Insects: Why Explore Through Science And Art? Eleanor Gates-Stuart1, Chuong Nguyen2 Presenting Author: Eleanor Gates-Stuart ([email protected]) 1Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University, ACT 0200, Australia 2Computational Informatics CSIRO, ACT 2601, Australia Keywords: collaboration, science art, visualisation, insects ABSTRACT Visualising the world of insects is at an exciting and innovative stage. New resources and technology allow exploration of intricate and complex detail at the miniscule scale of internal and external microscopic examination. In this project, a unique collaboration between a scientist and an artist has unified scientific and creative research interests in visualising insects from the Australian National Insect Collection. This intersection of science and art, within the fields of computational informatics, material science and entomology has proved a creative catalyst for imagination, ideas and innovation, particularly through the technical and aesthetic processes in which scientist and artist collaborate.
    [Show full text]
  • NIDS Forum EN.Indd
    Meeting the Needs of War: The Australian Army and the Vietnam War Albert Palazzo Introduction On 8 March 1965, as South Vietnam neared collapse under pressure from the communist North and its local Viet Cong proxies, the Marines of the Ninth US Marine Expeditionary Force came ashore at Danang. They represented the first combat troops the United States committed to what would become the Vietnam War as well as a change in mission from one of advising to fighting. A month later, soldiers from the US Army 173rd Airborne Brigade (Separate) arrived at Bien Hoa near Saigon. From this initial commitment would grow a force that at its peak would number more than half a million US military personnel.1 In response, the North Vietnam leader, Ho Chi Minh, decreed a new military service law that expanded the North’s Army by nearly 300,000 soldiers. Australia’s limited military resources meant it would only ever be a junior partner in the war and that it was up to the United States to bear nearly all the burden. Yet, while Australia’s military strength was miniscule, when compared to the might of the United States and to their Vietnamese opponent, Australia exhibited an enthusiasm for the war all out of proportion to its contribution. This was because what drove Australia’s decision to support an escalation of the war was not solely consideration of South Vietnam’s survival. Rightly, Australia’s political leaders saw the crisis as an opportunity to advance their own national interests. Consequently, a critical consideration for the Australian Government was the perception its support engendered in Washington.
    [Show full text]
  • From Controversy to Cutting Edge
    From Controversy to Cutting Edge A History of the F-111 in Australian Service Mark Lax © Commonwealth of Australia 2010 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission. Inquiries should be made to the publisher. Disclaimer The Commonwealth of Australia will not be legally responsible in contract, tort or otherwise, for any statements made in this document. Release This document is approved for public release. Portions of this document may be quoted or reproduced without permission, provided a standard source credit is included. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Lax, Mark, 1956- Title: From controversy to cutting edge : a history of the F-111 in Australian service / Mark Lax. ISBN: 9781920800543 (hbk.) Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Subjects: Australia. Royal Australian Air Force--History. F-111 (Jet fighter plane)--History. Air power--Australia--History. Dewey Number: 358.43830994 Illustrations: Juanita Franzi, Aero Illustrations Published by: Air Power Development Centre TCC-3, Department of Defence CANBERRA ACT 2600 AUSTRALIA Telephone: + 61 2 6266 1355 Facsimile: + 61 2 6266 1041 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.airpower.gov.au/airpower This book is dedicated to the memory of Air Vice-Marshal Ernie Hey and Dr Alf Payne Without whom, there would have been no F-111C iii Foreword The F-111 has been gracing Australian skies since 1973. While its introduction into service was controversial, it quickly found its way into the hearts and minds of Australians, and none more so than the men and women of Boeing.
    [Show full text]
  • RUSI of NSW Article
    Jump TO Article The article on the pages below is reprinted by permission from United Service (the journal of the Royal United Services Institute of New South Wales), which seeks to inform the defence and security debate in Australia and to bring an Australian perspective to that debate internationally. The Royal United Services Institute of New South Wales (RUSI NSW) has been promoting informed debate on defence and security issues since 1888. To receive quarterly copies of United Service and to obtain other significant benefits of RUSI NSW membership, please see our online Membership page: www.rusinsw.org.au/Membership Jump TO Article USI Vol64 No2 Jun13:USI Vol55 No4/2005 29/05/13 2:35 PM Page 51 BOOK REVIEW A soldier’s soldier: a biography of Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Daly by Jeffrey Grey Cambridge University Press (in association with the Army History Unit): Melbourne; 2013; 249 pp.; ISBN 978-1-107-03127-2; RRP $59.95 (hardback) A Soldierʼs Soldier is a sympathetic, yet mostly Adjutant-General and then General Officer Commanding balanced, biography of an Australian professional soldier, Eastern Command, before becoming Chief of the General Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Daly, KBE, CB, DSO, who Staff (CGS) in 1966. He was made a Companion of the served his nation with distinction in war and peace. Bath that year and a Knight Commander of the British The author, Jeffrey Grey, is Professor of History at the Empire in 1967. University of New South Wales, Canberra. An eminent Two chapters are devoted to his tenure as professional military historian, he is author or editor of numerous books head of the Army, a period that coincided with Australia’s and articles.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Australian Army Journal 2007 3
    Volume IV, Number 3 Summer 2007 Th e Australian Army Journal is published by authority of the Chief of Army Lieutenant General Peter Leahy, AC Th e Australian Army Journal is sponsored by: Director, Land Warfare Studies Centre © Commonwealth of Australia 2007 Th is journal is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of study, research, criticism or review (as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968), and with standard source credit included, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be directed to the Director, Land Warfare Studies Centre, Geddes Building, Ian Campbell Road, Duntroon ACT 2600. Contributors are urged to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in their articles; the Editorial Advisory Board accepts no responsibility for errors of fact. Permission to reprint AAJ articles will generally be given by the Editor aft er consultation with the author(s). Any reproduced articles must bear an acknowledgment of source. Th e views expressed in the Australian Army Journal are the contributors’ and not necessarily those of the Australian Army or the Department of Defence. Th e Commonwealth of Australia will not be legally responsible in contract, tort or otherwise for any statement made in this journal. ISSN 1448-2843 Th e Australian Army Journal Staff : Publisher: Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm McGregor Editor: Mr Scott Hopkins Research Editor: Ms Natalia Forrest Editorial Advisory Board: Dr Robert Ayson LTGEN John Coates, AC, MBE (Retd) BRIG John Essex-Clark, DSM (Retd) Prof. Jeff rey Grey MAJGEN John Hartley, AO (Retd) Mr Roger Lee Dr Peter Londey Mrs Catherine McCullagh MAJGEN Michael O’Brien, CSC (Retd) LTGEN Laurie O’Donnell, AC (Retd) Dr Albert Palazzo A/Prof.
    [Show full text]
  • Representation and Reinterpretations of Australia's War in Vietnam
    Vietnam Generation Volume 3 Number 2 Australia R&R: Representation and Article 1 Reinterpretations of Australia's War in Vietnam 1-1991 Australia R&R: Representation and Reinterpretations of Australia's War in Vietnam Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/vietnamgeneration Part of the American Studies Commons Recommended Citation (1991) "Australia R&R: Representation and Reinterpretations of Australia's War in Vietnam," Vietnam Generation: Vol. 3 : No. 2 , Article 1. Available at: http://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/vietnamgeneration/vol3/iss2/1 This Complete Volume is brought to you for free and open access by La Salle University Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Vietnam Generation by an authorized editor of La Salle University Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ON THIS SITE WILL BE ERECTED A MEMORIAL FOR THOSE WHO DIED & SERVED IN THE VIETNAM WAR maoKJwmiiMisanc? wmmEsnp jnauKi«mmi KXm XHURST rw svxr Representations and Reinterpretations of Australia's War in Vietnam Edited by Jeff Doyle & Jeffrey Grey Australia ReJR Representations and Reinterpretations o f Australia's war in Vietnam Edited by Jeff Doyle & Jeffrey Grey V ietnam Generation, I n c & Burning Cities Press Australia ReJR is published as a Special Issue of Vietnam Generation Vietnam Generation was founded in 1988 to promote and encourage interdisciplinary study of the Vietnam War era and the Vietnam War generation. The journal is published by Vietnam Generation, Inc., a nonprofit corporation devoted to promoting scholarship on recent history and contemporary issues. Vietnam Generation, Inc. Vice-President President Secretary, Treasurer HERMAN BEAVERS KALI TAL CYNTHIA FUCHS General Editor Newsletter Editor Technical Assistance KALI TAL DAN DUFFY LAWRENCE E HUNTER Advisory Board NANCY AN1SFIELD MICHAEL KLEIN WILLIAM J.
    [Show full text]
  • Australia and the Vietnam War: a Select Bibliography Jeffrey Grey
    Vietnam Generation Volume 3 Number 2 Australia R&R: Representation and Article 11 Reinterpretations of Australia's War in Vietnam 1-1991 Australia and the Vietnam War: A Select Bibliography Jeffrey Grey Jeff oD yle Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/vietnamgeneration Part of the American Studies Commons Recommended Citation Grey, Jeffrey and Doyle, Jeff (1991) Aus" tralia and the Vietnam War: A Select Bibliography," Vietnam Generation: Vol. 3 : No. 2 , Article 11. Available at: http://digitalcommons.lasalle.edu/vietnamgeneration/vol3/iss2/11 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by La Salle University Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Vietnam Generation by an authorized editor of La Salle University Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Australia and Vietnam War—A Select Bibliography. Jeff Doyle and Jeffrey Grey Introduction In keeping with the wide range of concerns of the essays in this volume the bibliography has attempted to cover as many “subject headings” as seemed possible. Thus while the title “Select Bibliography” suggests that the compilers have collected only the major “texts” of concern, the following lists are an attempt to be as complete as possible at the time of final compilation. “Select” is meant to convey the fact that the editors are certain (most likely the only certainty prevailing in scholarly life) that the lists are not complete. This incompletion applies to some areas more than to others. Newspapers and the general daily print media, and their radio and television equivalent news industries are the chief areas of extreme selection.
    [Show full text]
  • 20 MARCH 2014 Thursday, 20 March 2014
    20 MARCH 2014 www.hansard.act.gov.au Thursday, 20 March 2014 Education, Training and Youth Affairs—Standing Committee ................................ 585 Public Accounts—Standing Committee .................................................................... 587 Health, Ageing, Community and Social Services—Standing Committee ................. 591 Planning, Environment and Territory and Municipal Services— Standing Committee ............................................................................................. 591 Administration and Procedure—Standing Committee .............................................. 592 Getting home safely report—government response (Ministerial statement) ............. 602 National Close the Gap Day (Ministerial statement) ................................................. 606 Appropriation Bill 2013-2014 (No 2) ........................................................................ 608 Appropriation (Office of the Legislative Assembly) Bill 2013-2014 (No 2) ............ 610 Public Accounts—Standing Committee .................................................................... 610 Duties (Commercial Leases) Amendment Bill 2014 ................................................. 610 Territory-owned Corporations Amendment Bill 2014 .............................................. 612 Planning and Development (Project Facilitation) Amendment Bill 2014 ................. 613 Information Privacy Bill 2014 ................................................................................... 619 Justice and Community
    [Show full text]
  • Forewarned Forearmed : Australian Specialist Intelligence Support in South Vietnam, 1966-1971
    CANBERRA PAPERS ON STRATEGY & DEFENCE NO. 160 Published in Australia at The Australian National University, December 2007. © Australian National University This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Inquiries should be made to the publisher. This book must not be circulated in any other binding or cover. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publications entry Tidey, Blair, 1970-. Forewarned Forearmed: Australian Specialist Intelligence Support in South Vietnam, 1966-1971 ISBN 0 7315 5467 1. 1. Australia. Army - History. 2. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975 - Military intelligence - Australia. 3. Military intelligence - Australia. 4. Australia - Military policy. I. Australian National University. Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. II. Title. (Series: Canberra papers on strategy and defence; no. 160). 355.34320994 Series editor: Meredith Thatcher Cover design by Meredith Thatcher Front cover photo: Shows personnel from Detachment 1st Divisional Intelligence Unit (South Vietnam) and their Vietnamese counterparts preparing to search a market area during the cordon and search of a village in 1967. Photo courtesy of the Australian War Memorial; Australian War Memorial Negative, Number AWM EKN/67/0137/VN. Back cover insignias: Australian Army Intelligence Corps (top); Royal Australian Corps of Signals (bottom). Insignias courtesy of the Department of Defence;
    [Show full text]
  • The Way with LBJ?
    All the Way with LBJ?: Australian Grand Strategy and the Vietnam War A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Laura M. Seddelmeyer March 2009 © 2009 Laura M. Seddelmeyer. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled All the Way with LBJ?: Australian Grand Strategy and the Vietnam War By LAURA M. SEDDELMEYER has been approved for the Department of History and the College of Arts and Sciences by _________________________________________ Peter John Brobst Associate Professor of History __________________________________________ Benjamin M. Ogles Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 ABSTRACT SEDDELMEYER, LAURA M., M.A., March 2009, History All the Way with LBJ?: Australian Grand Strategy and the Vietnam War (116 pp.) Director of Thesis: Peter John Brobst Australia’s commitment to the Vietnam War garners little attention in most American historical literature, but the event marked a significant step in the development of an Australian postwar strategy. It was the first time that Australia acted without the support of its traditional British ally. In the years preceding Australia’s commitment to the war, officials in Canberra recognized that French withdrawal from Indochina, the Malayan Emergency, crises in Laos, and Indonesian Confrontation threatened the stability of Southeast Asia. Additionally, the threat of Chinese communist expansion and the beginning of British decolonization placed Australia in a vulnerable position. As a result, Canberra turned to collective security agreements such as ANZUS and SEATO to solidify its position in the region. With the potential threat for an attack on Australia increasing after World War II, Canberra needed to make national security a priority, but such a task required the preservation of stability in Southeast Asia.
    [Show full text]