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WW1 Significant People

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WW1 Significant People

Read the historical profiles and source extracts, then answer the questions. Use evidence from the sheet and explain how different people shaped the war or its memory.

People, choices and consequences

Billy Hughes became Australian prime minister in 1915. He strongly supported conscription for overseas military service. Australian voters rejected conscription in two referendums, in 1916 and 1917. Hughes's campaign divided the country, including the Labor Party, and he later led a new government coalition. His supporters argued that more soldiers were needed; opponents argued that compulsory service was unjust and that the government should respect voters' decisions. Winston Churchill was Britain's First Lord of the Admiralty at the start of the war. He supported the 1915 Dardanelles campaign, intended to open a sea route to Russia and threaten the Ottoman Empire. The Gallipoli landings became part of this campaign and ended in Allied withdrawal after heavy casualties. Churchill was not the sole decision-maker, but his advocacy for the plan made his role controversial. His later political career included roles such as Minister of Munitions; he became British prime minister in 1940, not during the First World War. Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated with his wife Sophie in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 July. The assassination was the immediate crisis that helped set off a wider conflict, but alliances, militarism, imperial rivalry and nationalism also contributed to the war. John Simpson Kirkpatrick was a stretcher-bearer at Gallipoli who used a donkey to help carry wounded men. He was killed in May 1915. The familiar story of “Simpson and his donkey” became part of the ANZAC legend, often symbolising courage and care for others. Historians also ask how such stories shape national memory and whether they can make war seem more heroic than its full reality.

Source snapshots

Source A — A summary of the 1916 and 1917 conscription referendums: Australian voters rejected the proposal for compulsory overseas service both times. Source B — A later commemorative account describes Simpson as “a symbol of courage and compassion at Gallipoli”. This is evidence of how he was remembered, rather than a complete account of every soldier’s experience. Source C — A historian’s summary of the Dardanelles campaign notes that Churchill advocated the strategy, while decisions and outcomes involved many political and military leaders.

Investigate the people

Use details from the profiles and source snapshots. For written responses, support your ideas with precise evidence.

1.Which statement best explains why Billy Hughes was controversial during the war?

He opposed all overseas military service and refused to lead a government.
He campaigned for conscription despite two referendum defeats, deepening political divisions.
He commanded the Allied troops at Gallipoli.
He was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne.

2.What was Churchill’s position at the start of the war, and what part did he play in the Dardanelles campaign?

3.Put these events in chronological order by writing 1–4: Simpson is killed at Gallipoli; Franz Ferdinand is assassinated; Hughes becomes Australian prime minister; Australia’s first conscription referendum is held.

4.Complete the sentence: Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in on 28 June 1914.

5.Complete the sentence: On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on .

6.Source A reports two referendum defeats. Explain one reason opponents of conscription might have rejected Hughes’s proposal, and one way the result affected Australian politics.

7.The familiar story of Simpson and his donkey is part of the ANZAC legend. Name one value the story has come to represent and one limitation of relying on this story to understand the whole war.

8.True or false: Franz Ferdinand’s assassination was the only cause of the First World War. Correct the statement if it is false.

TrueFalse

9.Compare Source B and Source C. What different aspect of the past does each help us understand, and what can each source not tell us on its own?

10.Historical argument: Choose Billy Hughes, Winston Churchill, Franz Ferdinand or John Simpson Kirkpatrick. Write a claim about that person’s significance, give two accurate pieces of evidence from this sheet, and explain why the evidence supports your claim. A strong response recognises limits or context where relevant.