Gone but never forgotten in an award-winning quilt by Sophie Birrell

Sophie is one of 12 recipients of this year’s Premier’s Spirit of Anzac Prize, an annual competition for Victorian students in Years 9 to 12.

The submitted projects were to pay tribute to war memorials, with the winning students presented certificates by Victorian Veterans Minister Natalie Suleyman at parliament on Thursday, August 15.

“I was shocked to be one of the winners,” Sophie said.

“But it was also surreal being in a room with the minister, the Turkish Consul for Melbourne, and the MC, whose grandfather and my great-grandfather were both involved in the same part of the war, they could have known each other, so there was also a bit of pride and connection in that.”

That pride extends to the region, as the quilt of the Goulburn Valley Grammar School Year 11 student was selected from hundreds of entrants.

After seeing her craftwork, it’s clear why she made the cut.

Funnelling her historical research, Sophie exhibited a keen, tender focus on representing the unacknowledged soldiers.

“I chose to do a silhouette of the nurse and the soldier because it means that it can be anyone,” she said.

Sophie said the inclusivity of the two figures extended to First Nations people, who were prevented from joining the army due to racist regulations until 1916.

Bordered by red poppies, the quilt spells out the Ode of Remembrance.

Each individual letter was cut and sewn, a task that took hours.

“(Pressing the letters down) was the ruination of my iron,” mum Lisa Birrell said.

“But worth it,” Sophie said.

Quilting is often seen as a dated deed.

But through the power of the needle, Sophie has patched the past to the present, creating a modern manifestation of the almost-century-old Changi quilts.

During World War II, the women internees at Changi Gaol were forbidden from communicating with the male prisoners held nearby.

They devised a method to communicate by embedding coded messages in patchwork quilts sent to the men under the guise of aid for sick soldiers.

Their designs expressed both patriotism and specific messages to loved ones.

“When I read about it and saw a quilt that carried such a message, it was so moving,” Sophie said.

“I felt like I wanted to make my own and kind of continue the legacy.”

Quilting is new territory for the young seamstress, as is her upcoming international study tour destination.

The 12 prize winners (soon to be close-knit friends) will embark on a 10-day trip to Türkiye, visiting significant historical sites in Istanbul and Çanakkale over the September school holidays.

There, they will learn about the courageous actions of those who fought and died during the Gallipoli campaign.

“I’m excited to see everything, particularly Anzac Cove,” Sophie said.

“(I’ve heard) it’s the most moving experience because you see the ferocious waves and the rocky terrain, and you imagine these soldiers carrying their 30kg packs and their friends on their shoulders.

“It’s unfathomable in today’s society, but that’s what they had to do.”

The students will each choose an Australian soldier buried at one of Türkiye’s war cemeteries to memorialise.

Although Sophie has not yet decided whom, she said her research into the national archives had been fascinating.

“Many have served from the Goulburn Valley,” she said.

“I found someone from Murchison, and he was only 17 and two months when he was killed ... that’s less than a year older than me.”

No doubt Sophie will return from the experience deepened in understanding and further cemented in her passions.

She will continue to delve into history.

She will continue to honour the Anzacs in any way she can.

And if Sophie decides to make another quilt, hide your irons.