Bereavement and Mourning (Australia)

This article considers patterns of bereavement and mourning in Australia both during and immediately after the Great War. It argues that the conditions of modern warfare and sheer distance from the battlefields contributed to a sense of unreconciled loss amongst the civilian population and identifies the new memorial cultures and supportive circles of mourning that emerged in the face of mass death. It also considers the complex relationship soldiers had with the loss of their comrades through a close reading of personal testimony which challenges the widely accepted model of patriotic duty and Spartan emotional repression amongst soldier and civilian alike.