As we pause this ANZAC Day to reflect on service and sacrifice, we also honour those who continue to serve, long after their uniforms are retired.
Military historian and 1977 Churchill Fellow David Horner says understanding our military history is essential to understanding ourselves as a nation.
Across Australia, Churchill Fellows are working to support Defence members, veterans, and their families by addressing some of the most complex and sensitive issues facing the community today.
Strengthening Support Through Cultural Change
In 2009, Angela Ballard undertook a Churchill Fellowship to investigate how military organisations in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom respond to sexual assault within their ranks. Her research explored prevention and intervention strategies focusing on compassion, cultural readiness, and leadership accountability.
Angela’s report highlights the importance of programs like Bystander Intervention and the Mentors in Violence Prevention initiative—efforts that empower Defence personnel to speak up, support one another, and create a culture of safety and respect within the Australian Defence Force.
Connecting Through Art and Technology
Persistent pain affects 40% of Australian veterans—more than 250,000 people. This hidden burden, often shrouded by stigma and social isolation, is one of the most pressing health concerns facing the veteran community.
Nerita Lewis, a Churchill Fellow, explored how art and digital platforms can reduce this isolation. Her work demonstrates how creative expression and online communities can offer veterans safe spaces for connection, validation, and healing, supporting emotional well—being and empowering those living with invisible wounds.
Supporting Families Through Loss
The weight of service is not carried by Defence members alone. Families, too, make sacrifices—and in times of loss, they deserve comprehensive support.
Drawing on her experience as a former RAAF officer and Base Burials Officer, Dr. Kirstin Ferguson used her Churchill Fellowship to examine how Australia can better support ADF families grieving the death of a loved one in service. Her report calls for compassionate, structured approaches that meet families’ emotional and practical needs, reinforcing the importance of care beyond ceremony.
Preserving the Legacy of the Fallen
More than a century after the First World War, Courtney Page-Allen is helping Australians reconnect with their military heritage through her Churchill Fellowship. Her project focused on the Bond of Sacrifice collection—16,000 portraits held at the Imperial War Museum in London, including 1,535 of Australian servicemen.
By linking these portraits to service and casualty records from the National Archives of Australia and the Australian War Memorial, Courtney’s work is bringing these stories to light. Her aim is to digitise the collection, making it publicly accessible and preserving these faces—and the lives behind them—for future generations.
Healing Moral Injury
The Venerable Rob Sutherland CSC has dedicated decades to serving both in uniform and in spirit—as an infantry officer, chaplain, Archdeacon, and Brigadier. Through his Churchill Fellowship, Rob explored international approaches to treating spiritual wounds and moral injuries among veterans.
His work has influenced initiatives like the pilot program reintroducing chaplaincy into the Department of Veterans Affairs, recognising that healing after service must be holistic, embracing the physical, psychological and emotional and spiritual dimensions of wellbeing.
Lest we forget
On ANZAC Day, we remember the fallen. But we also honour the living—the veterans who carry moral burdens long after the battlefield, the families who bear the weight of loss, and those who work tirelessly to support them.
Let us commemorate the past, support the present, and help shape a future where no one who has served feels forgotten.