St John's Cathedral, Brisbane and the Anzac Legend

German General Johann von der Marwitz agreed, commenting that “ once they gained the moral ascendency, the Australians established such a dominance that the mere entry of two or three Australians into a trench was sufficient to send all German hands into the air quaking.” 5 It was on the Western Front that Australian soldiers first became known as ‘Diggers.’ Over time, the term became closely associated with the Anzac legend, especially with the Australian traditions of egalitarianism and mateship. During the war, the ANZAC Corps, as the Australian Light Horse (mounted infantry) and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, also fought in Egypt and Palestine against the Ottoman Empire (the Turks). The Empire was still a German ally, controlled much of the Middle East, and Britain was concerned that the Turks would cut off its oil supplies and block the Suez Canal. British and Anzac soldiers were sent to fight the Turks. The Middle East campaign began in 1916 with Australian troops helping to defend the Suez Canal and reconquer the Sinai Desert. In the following year the Light Horse and other allied troops advanced into Palestine and captured Gaza following the famous Battle of Beersheba, and then Jerusalem (see section 6). By 1918 they had occupied Lebanon and Syria and in October that year the Ottoman Empire finally sued for peace.

The First World War was the costliest conflict in which Australian forces have taken part. At that time Australia’s population was less than five million, yet 416,000 Australian men enlisted of whom 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded or taken prisoner. Proportionally, Australia suffered the largest percentage of casualties among all British Empire (now Commonwealth) contingents. In 1922 St John’s Cathedral commissioned three stained-glass windows to commemorate the service of Australians who had taken part in the war, and in particular to remember those who lost their lives in battle. The windows were crafted in England by the distinguished glass-making firm of Burlinson and Grylls. They are grouped under the general theme of ‘Service and Sacrifice.’

Australian soldiers at Ypres, one of the major battle fronts of the First World War.

State Library of Queensland

5 Both quotations from Jonathan King, The Western Front Diaries, (Simon and Schuster, Sydney, 2008).

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