THE 62,000 Australian servicemen and women who died in the First World War are being remembered by school children through a unique project organised by the Australian War Memorial (AWM).
The AWM's Roll of Honour Soundscape Project was launched in May this year and will run through to November 2018.
Primary school students between the ages of 10 and 12 from across Australia have been invited to record the name and age of one of the 62,000 Australians who died during the First World War.
The AWM's Centenary of Anzac project manager Darren Noack said the recordings became part of the memorial's permanent national collection and since August had been broadcast through the First World War Roll of Honour cloisters in Canberra during opening hours.
"The memorial is passionate about engaging and involving young people in the active recognition and remembrance of the sacrifice made by Australians during the First World War," he said.
The project got underway with recordings made during May and June with the assistance of local ABC Radio stations across the country.
As of last month participation in the project became easier for rural and regional students with Google Australia's launch of a new online recording application, Remember Me.
Mr Noack said the app allowed students to make their recordings for the Soundscape project in their school and then upload them to the AWM collection.
"We had a really good response from the schools from our initial call out, but now - due to the scale of the task - this app allows us to go to the schools directly," he said.
The spoken word is a powerful thing and Mr Noack said the response from the general public visiting the memorial had been positive.
"One woman was visiting the memorial to place a poppy in the wall for her great uncle when at that moment she heard his name spoken - it was a very moving experience for her," Mr Noack said.
"But there's also been a strong response from the children who are taking part in this experience.
"Not only is it a chance to get into a computer and interact but it's also led to study projects helping them to understand the sacrifices made by Australian soldiers in the First World War."
Study projects are bringing to light people such as James Martin, who at 14 is thought to be the youngest Australian to die during the war.
According to AWM records, James was born in Tocumwal in 1901, and he'd just left school to work as a farmhand when he joined the 1st Reinforcements of the 21st Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force in April 1915.
After training at Seymour in Victoria he left for Egypt in June.
Private Martin's battalion landed at Gallipoli on September 8, but he was evacuated to a hospital ship suffering from enteritis on October 25, and died that night.
Private Martin was buried at sea but his name is recorded on the Lone Pine Memorial at Gallipoli.
The Soundscape project was initiated by AWM director Dr Brendan Nelson as a result of his experience visiting the battlefields of the First World War in Belgium and France when he was the Australian Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union.
Schools can register to use the application online at www.awm.gov.au/1914-1918/roll-honour-soundscape
