Your story could finish the bear

Picture: AGW's Lindsey Davie needs your suggestion for the new bear's colour patch

Can you help finish Australia’s first greatcoat Great War bear? The people behind the hugely successful Australia in the Great War initiative, which is helping thousands of Australians to connect to the 2014-2018 Anzac Centenary, need a colour patch for the new story sharing bear to be released in early 2017.

Lindsey Davie of Australia in the Great War says the new Sgt Grey Wilson, the Greatcoat Bear, will share stories of Australian forces in the Great War and the hardships of life in the bitter winters on the Western Front, particularly in 1916-1917 when the French said it was the worst winter in memory.

As with all bears created for the collection the detail in the uniform is essential. Each badge, patch or uniform accessory is created in exacting detail to represent the actual uniform of the day.  To date each bear has been allocated a colour patch by historians advising on the uniforms. For the Greatcoat bear AGW wants to give people the opportunity to nominate the bear's “battalion colour patch”. It can be about remembering family service, those in your community who served, or the colours of your battalion.

“We want people to understand that these bears are about sharing a connection to the people and times of 1914-1918,” Ms Davie said. “There are thousands of people today with stories to share about family or community in the war years and we want to help them share these stories with generations to come.”

To nominate your battalion just add your suggestion to the comments on the Australia Great War Facebook. If you’re not on Facebook email your suggestion to [email protected] and your idea will be shared on Facebook. The most moving or liked suggestion will be selected. Please get your suggestion in by midnight Wednesday 14 December so the AGW team can weave your story into Grey’s coat. Suggestions and stories will be shared by AGW, which has since 2014 reached millions of people and engaged schools, community groups and others in commemorating and remembering the significance of the Great War Centenary.

AGW also supports those working to help younger veterans returned from recent conflicts. It has raised more than $400,000 for the charity Soldier On.

What is a Greatcoat?

Greatcoat is a catch-all name for a long heavy overcoat. The coat’s origins are unclear, but it is generally thought to have evolved from a style of coat worn by French coachmen in the late 1600s. Through most of the 1700s the tailored greatcoat was generally seen as the preserve of ‘gentlemen’ and in the military, officers.  In the 1800s it was more widely adopted by ‘common folk’ and in the military issued to the ranks. By the late 1800s most militaries had a version of the greatcoat.

Australia’s Great War Greatcoat was a heavy khaki woollen coat, and as well as being the soldier’s chief protection against cold and wet, it was often used as bedding and for shelter.