Posted April 2008 Diggers and students keep Anzac ‘chatting’ tradition alive
		Troops at Gallipoli could only take a short break from the front line to chat. Back in those days, chatting was not about ‘having a yarn’. It involved searching through your clothes to find and kill chats: small lice-like insects that infected everyone at Anzac Cove. While our Anzac heroes might be gone, other diggers have upheld their chatting tradition in a different, 21st century style, by chatting online with Queensland students. The diggers joined other defence force guests in a series of online chats set up by the Learning Place to help students commemorate and learn more about Anzac Day and life during war. Private Stephen Hermann at Kapooka - recruit training in the 'bear pit' Cyril Gilbert was a POW in Malaya and Thailand during WWII

One of the diggers is Cyril Gilbert, who shared his powerful stories and experiences about being a prisoner of war in Malaya and Thailand during World War II. While chatting online, Cyril recalled how he once marched 199 miles in 17 days to help build the train track between Thailand and Burma. There, he lived on one cup of rice and water and worked 18 hours each day.

This is the fourth year that Cyril joined the online Anzac Day activities. He said he returned every year to teach students how war impacts on people, personally.

‘You can’t read about that in a textbook,’ he said.

‘I enjoy reaching out to kids to educate them about the human tragedy of war.’

Sometimes, it can be a little hard for Cyril to answer students’ questions.

‘I am most moved when they ask me about the friends and mates I lost in the war,’ he said.

To cope, Cyril embarks on a ritual journey to Thailand every year, where he visits the war graves of his mates. ‘It gives me the chance to honour my friends and remember their vibrancy as 19 and 21 year olds.’

Other guests to chat online this year included Matt Smith, who established the Australian War Graves Photographic Archive, Mike Goodwin, who founded the national Lest We Forget project, and Petty Officer Neil McLaurin, of the Royal Australian Navy.

The Anzac Day commemorations involved more than online chats. Students also took part in a range of blogs, where they learned about peacekeeping, war memorials and more. Through the Anzac acrostic blog, they wrote acrostic poems with an ANZAC Day flare. With the Peacekeepers blog, students took time out to reflect how they would help others if they were a peacekeeper.

Many also enjoyed a music and film ‘rap’ based on the song I was only Nineteen, written by Redgum and recently re-released by Australian hip-hop band, The Herd. In this rap, students listened and watched the Herd’s version of the song and interacted with each other by responding to higher order questions relating to the song’s lyrics.

Working in groups, they identified words and phrases they were unfamiliar with. The students then researched these terms and rewrote them so people unfamiliar with Australia or the Vietnam War could understand their meaning.

To view this year’s Anzac Day activities and list of digital resources, visit the Learning Place’s Anzac Day 2008 events website.

The Learning Place holds fully scaffolded online events throughout the year. Check out the Learning Place calendar to keep abreast of upcoming activities that might interest you.