'University High School was just being established in Melbourne when the Great War began in 1914. In December of that year, the brilliant scholar, 38-year-old Matthew Stanton Sharman (1876–1953), was appointed as its second principal. It was his task to guide the school through the tumultuous years of the war. A remarkable album of letters that Matthew Sharman assembled as a memorial to the war experiences of his school community is now held in the State Library Victoria collection. This article is an introduction to the album, and the school’s response to the war.' (44)