‘Our Schools and the War, by Rosalie Triolo (Chapter One) #BookReview

Today is the hundredth anniversary of the armistice on November 11th, 1918.  There will be solemn ceremonies in many places today, reflecting on four years of brutal warfare in the war that was thought to end all wars thereafter.

And although it seems fair to say that some of us feel a certain fatigue about the four long years of Anzac commemorations in Australia, (at a breathtaking cost of about $325 million), nevertheless I went last week to a talk by Dr Rosalie Triolo about the WW1 service of my own profession—the teaching profession. What stood out for me from her talk was the extent to which schools were impacted: the enlistment of the mostly male teachers meant the return of retired teachers and an influx of female staff.  The horrific casualty rates meant that many children lost a beloved teacher, and that teachers still in the classroom had to…