Aussie: The Australian Soldiers' Magazine was a magazine printed in the field on the Western Front, in France, during World War One by the Australian Imperial Forces Printing Section. The publication was an incredible endeavour that helped to celebrate the distinctive Australian identity at war, as well as shaping a sense of community and played a significant role in articulating what it meant to be a 'digger'.
It was started in 1918 by Lieut. Phillip L. Harris, a former journalist who was to become its first and only editor. Harris acquired a small printing plant and accessories from various firms in Sydney and Melbourne in 1914, and the press was first used on the troopship Ceramic to produce a small regimental paper, Honk! The plant consisted of a Platen press, type and accessories, and a small amount of paper. In 1916 the press was then used to produce a paper called The Rising Sun, which was only in print for three months, following which Harris presented the idea of making a magazine for Australian troops on the front-line. Despite facing the extreme difficulties of finding an adequate supply of paper and skilled help, Harris was able to print 10,000 copies of the first issue of Aussie in the field at Flêtre. The thirteen issues of the magazine were sold to the troops for ten centimes a copy, with much of the proceeds going to the A.I.F Trust Fund, and to raise money for Australia's national War Museum.
The magazine contained some biographical clips and works by well-known Australian writers such as 'Banjo' Paterson, Henry Lawson, C.J Dennis, Louise Mack and John Le Gay Brereton. Most of the troops would have been familiar with these writers due to the popularity as contributors to The Bulletin. But the majority of Aussie's content came from the diggers (soldiers) themselves. Harris claimed that the articles within the magazine were stories from the soldiers, and he "merely caught them and put them on to paper". Aussie was a magazine for Australian soldiers, made by Australian soldiers and as Sir Colin Hines put it, the magazine "shows in its humour, pathos, and tales of comradeship, the spirit which created the entity of the Australian at War" (Harris, i)
Aussie in the field
The first issue of Aussie was printed in the field at Fletre on January 18, 1918. Ten thousand copies were printed of the sixteen page volume. For most of its wartime publication the magazine was wholly put together by Lieut. Phillip Harris with the help of a member of Harris' battalion, Bill Littleton. The first issue found success and there was demand for sixty thousand copies of the second issue. However, the small Platen printing press being used for the magazine was only able to print one page at a time, making it impractical and almost impossible to print sixty thousand copies on that equipment. Harris went in search of a new printing press, looking through the remains of villages that had been shelled. Most of the machines that he came across had been too badly damaged, but Harris was able to pull one from the wreckage at Dunkirk. The machine had been damaged but was brought back to life by the Australian troops. Harris still faced the challenge of sourcing enough paper to print the magazine, collecting it from various ruined printing works near the Line and a paper mill near Saint Omer. As the magazine continued, sourcing paper remained an issue until Harris discovered a printing works in a cellar in Armentieres. Harris had picked up on a consistent habit of printers to move their machinery and supplies into basements as warfare moved through the towns and so searched through the ruins of Armentieres until he came across the printing works and ten tons of paper, enabling the printing of 100,000 copies of the third issue of Aussie. With this many copies of the third issue, Harris was unable to get a sufficient labour to fold the sheets of the magazine. Harris searched through a number of towns for a folding machine but came up empty handed. It wasn't until one was donated by Lady McIlwraith that the third issue was able to be completed. Sourcing paper remained an issue for Harris, until he eventually approached Brig-General Dodds with his problem. Dodds organised with the War Office to send three tons of paper per issue from London.