About the project
Beyond 1914 – The University of Sydney and the Great War is an extensive, searchable database of biographies and archival information of members of the University community involved in the First World War. It forms a major part of the University’s contribution to the history of the Australian experience of the Great War.
We have built Beyond 1914 using information provided to the University between 1916 and 1938 by more than 2000 former staff, students, graduates and their families. It was used to compile the University of Sydney’s Book of Remembrance, first published in 1939. As an interactive, searchable website, Beyond 1914 offers a unique insight into the lives of these University men and women before, during and after the war.
In addition to extracts from the original Book of Remembrance, Beyond 1914 also features personal diaries, war service records, photographs, letters, postcards, songbooks and Christmas and condolence cards. This substantial collection was compiled by the University at the time but has never before been published. (The biographical files are now also available to search on the University Archives online search.)
It is important to note that Beyond 1914 is not a complete record of the lives of these men and women.
The database for Beyond 1914 was originally built using Heurist, an open source knowledge management platform for the humanities initially developed within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
More than 10,000 life events were extracted from the Book of Remembrance and loaded into Heurist. These events are linked to the individuals concerned, educational institutions and geographical locations to allow the creation of personal lifelines and broader timelines and maps. About 27,000 scanned photographs and documents have been loaded and linked to individuals.
A TIMELINE OF EVENTS
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1914
4 August 1914 – War breaks out in Europe and Australian Prime Minister Joseph Cook pledges full support for the British echoing the words of then opposition leader Andrew Fisher that Australia will stand by Britain to its “last man and last shilling”.
11 September 1914 – Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force lands at Rabaul, German New Guinea
11 September 1914 – Captain Brian Pockley (Sydney University, M.B. 1914) is fatally wounded in Kabakaul, becoming the first Australian officer serving with the Australian Imperial Force to die in the war.
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1915
25 April 1915 – Allied forces land at Gallipoli, Turkey, beginning an eight-month campaign against the Turks.
November 1915 – Editor of student magazine Hermes announces that an endeavour will be made early in 1916 to publish records and photographs of University men at war.
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1916
February 1916 – Battle of Verdun begins
30 September 1916 – Sydney University Union president H.V. Evatt publishes a circular that appears in newspapers across the country requesting photographs and details of war service for a proposed War Memorial section of the University Archives
July 1916 – Battle of the Somme begins
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1917
May 1917 – Honorary Archivist John Le Gay Brereton begins compiling war records from the Union Archives; these are published regularly in Hermes throughout the remainder of the War.
July 1917 – Battle of Passchendaele begins
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1918
11 November 1918 – Germany surrenders and signs the Armistice
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1919
29 October 1919 – The University holds a garden party for all returned soldiers and includes a Roll of Service featuring the names of 1,300 service personnel from the University community. It included a note asking for additions and alterations to be sent to the University Registrar
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1922
The University establishes a War Memorial committee. At its first meeting the committee decides to compile a book containing a list of all the men and women who served during the War.
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1924
Construction of a War Memorial Carillion is commissioned.
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1931
The War Memorial committee commits to compiling the Book of Remembrance, listing all the men and women who served overseas and including both their academic and service details.
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1932
George Edward Hall is appointed honorary archivist by Professor Holme on behalf of the University committee and begins compiling information for the Book of Remembrance.
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1939
The University of Sydney’s Book of Remembrance is published.
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2013
The University of Sydney Archives and University Historian Associate Professor Julia Horne receive a grant from the Chancellor’s Committee to establish an interactive research database about the University of Sydney’s contribution to the Allied effort in the First World War.
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2014
9 September 2014 – Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Dame Marie Bashir, Governor of New South Wales launches Beyond 1914 – The University of Sydney and The Great War in the Great Hall.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Beyond 1914 – The University of Sydney and The Great War has received generous support from the University of Sydney’s Chancellor’s Committee, Women’s College, St Paul’s College, St John’s College and St Andrew’s College, as well as from the University of Sydney and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
The original concept for Beyond 1914 was developed by Nyree Morrison, University of Sydney Archives, and Julia Horne, University Historian, and has benefited from many other collaborations.
The database functionality was originally designed by Dr Ian Johnson, and powered by Heurist software (2014 to 2025).
Content management by Elizabeth Gillroy, World War One Centenary Project Officer, the University of Sydney.
In a collaboration, volunteers at Musems of History NSW digitised close to 600 images of people listed on the Beyond 1914 website. Museums of History NSW, State Archives series 9873 consists of photographs of doctors applying for registration as medical practitioners in New South Wales. The University of Sydney acknowledges the considerable support provided by NSW State Archives.
Generously supported by
The University of Sydney Chancellor’s Committee
with additional support from
