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Remembrance Day Research
On Remembrance Day Australians pause to remember those who died in war. As part of last year's commemorations, some kids from Colonel Light Gardens Primary School in Adelaide decided to investigate the role their school grounds played in preparing Aussie troops for World War I.
VARIOUS KIDS: The Mitcham army camp was located here during World War One from 1914 to 1918. 100 years ago in 1915, there were no houses here in Colonel Light Gardens. This was all a big World War One training site called the Mitcham Camp.
Men volunteered to join the Australian Imperial Force and they came here from all over South Australia. Four thousand men lived here at once and 30 thousand soldiers trained at the Mitcham Camp in four years. Over 12 weeks they did physical exercise, rifle, bayonet and bomb practice, marching drills and trench work.
For the first year, the Mitcham Camp men slept in tents; eight men to each tent. But the camp was really dusty in summer and super muddy in winter.
Mitcham camp did Light horse training. Light horsemen were soldiers who used their horses to get to the battlefields.
The Mitcham camp soldiers had sports days for recreation. They had all sorts of crazy games like boxing, obstacle courses and tug of war!
Marching was important for army discipline.
The young lady who lived at our house married a soldier from the Mitcham Camp. She walked with him to the station when he left for Egypt.
After 12 weeks, they travelled by ship to train more in Egypt. The men fought in Gallipoli, France and Belgium; some fought in Egypt and Palestine.
As soon as the war ended, Mitcham Camp was dismantled and the streets and homes of Colonel Light Gardens sprang up. Many of the new residents were returned soldiers with their young families. Our school opened in 1926.
Of the 30 thousand men who trained at the Mitcham Camp, six thousand were killed in the war.
SISTER AND BROTHER: Our great uncle Roy Larwood and his cousin William Larwood trained at the Mitcham Camp. Roy was killed in France and William was killed in Belgium.
BOY: This is the grave of my great grandfather Gordon McLachlan. He served at Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine and trained at Mitcham Army Camp.
GIRL 1: They were very brave to go and fight for us and now we have a free country.
GIRL 2: I'm sad and happy that the war is over now and I hope they all rest in peace.