Local cemeteries Look for headstones with the AIF Rising Sun emblem and note any information about the ex-serviceman. Before the Vietnam war the bodies of those who died overseas were not returned to Australia, but their families often listed them in local cemeteries as brothers, children and husbands. This could lead to a classroom exercise in drawing family trees or a photographic display of headstones. Local newspaper Use your local paper to publicise your project in a small article. This can lead to offers of letters, medals, scrolls, widow's badges and other mementoes, which, with permission, could be copied and used for a display.
Local newspapers are also an important archive of information on the past.
If you have the date of death of the soldier, a search through the paper of the time may give you valuable information. Local newspapers had commemoration or honour rolls published. The advertisements, articles and photos of the period will also build up an understanding of the impact of war on your area. A local museum may have artefacts and photographs as additional information for your researches. This display may provide the basis for a trail for your students.