ANZAC DAY – 2020
I have always respected the ANZAC tradition and attended all dawn services when possible to honour those who gave their lives for us and our secure futures.
Due to COVID – 19 there will be no official ANZAC Day public celebration, so instead, I present a compilation of many ANZAC Days over the last approximately twenty years. Most from Dili, East Timor and a few around Australia, including Darwin, Alice Springs and Adelaide last year. (There are some extracts gleaned from various websites for accuracy).
The photos are randomly placed and not in their respective categories. Sorry. I ran out of time.
THE NAME
For, those who do not know, ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
THE BEGINNING
In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula, according to a plan by Winston Churchill to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. Though the Gallipoli campaign failed to achieve its military objectives, the actions of the Australian and New Zealander troops during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an “Anzac legend” became an important part of the national identity in both countries.
THE CATAFALQUE PARTY
At the beginning of an ANZAC Day service, four members of the Defence Force take up position around the cenotaph or shrine, standing with their heads bowed and arms (the weapons) reversed}. They remain there as a mark of respect for the fallen until the end of the service.
DAWN SERVICE
The first official dawn service was held at the Sydney Cenotaph in 1927. Dawn services were originally very simple and followed the operational ritual; in many cases they were restricted to veterans only to remember and reflect among the comrades with whom they shared a special bond.
This service is about the time men of the ANZAC approached the Gallipoli beach. However, the origin is the traditional ‘stand-to’, in which troops would be woken so that by the first rays of dawn they were in position and alert, in case of an enemy attack in the eerie half-light.
THE ODE
The “Ode of Remembrance” has been adopted to best preserve the memory on the day of fallen comrades and is taken from Laurence Binyon‘s poem “For the Fallen”, The Ode comes from the fourth stanza of the poem. It was published in London in The Winnowing Fan: Poems of the Great War in 1914. It was used in association with commemorative services in Australia by 1921.
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.”
ENEMIES BONDING
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey. He also commanded the Turkish army who opposed the ANZAC’s.
A unique relationship and mutual respect evolved between the ‘enemies’ and remains to this day. The following quote from Ataturk is evidence of that . “You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace, after having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”
Ataturk, 1934
GUNFIRE BREAKFAST
Many communities follow the dawn service with a ‘traditional’ gunfire breakfast. ‘Gunfire’ is a British tradition. The ‘gunfire breakfast’ seems to comprise of whatever is available at the time. It could be ‘coffee and rum’ or ‘stew, sausage and bread’, or even ‘bacon and eggs’ (which is served by the War Memorial for their ‘gunfire breakfast’ on Anzac Day).
ANZAC DAY MARCH
From cities to small towns, the march has long been the centre piece of Anzac Day. Marches were held during the Great War, and became popular with veterans in the 1920s, to honour lost friends and publicly express comradeship.
FOLLOW ON AND TWO UP
The march may be followed by reunions and lunches put on by local establishments. This is also the one day that the traditional Australian gambling game of ‘two-up’, or ‘swy’, may be legally played at venues. Bets are placed on how two pennies thrown into the air will fall. The ‘Ringer’ (in charge) will explain rules and betting procedures. Any persons of legal gambling age are welcome to participate.
WEARING MEDALS
Only the person awarded or issued medals may claim those medals as his or her own. He or she wears the medals on their left breast. Others (those who did not earn the medals) may honour the service of a relative by wearing medals on the right breast. Some veterans may be seen wearing medals on both breasts—their own on the left, and a relative’s on the right
WEARING THE POPPY
The red poppy has become a symbol of war remembrance the world over. People in many countries wear the poppy to remember those who died in war or who still serve. In many countries, the poppy is worn around Armistice Day (11 November), but in Australia and New Zealand it is most commonly seen around Anzac Day, 25 April.
LAYING A WREATH OT FLOWERS
A wreath or a small bunch of flowers is traditionally laid on memorials or graves in memory of the dead. They might contain laurel, a traditional symbol of honour, and rosemary, or they may be native or other flowers.
THE LAST POST
This is one of a number of bugle calls in the military tradition to mark phases of the day. Traditionally, it marked the end of the day. The Last Post was incorporated into funeral and memorial services as a final farewell, and symbolises that the duty of the dead is over and that they can rest in peace. On Anzac Day, it is followed by one or two minutes of silence, then a second bugle call, Reveille (also known as The Rouse).
THE ANZAC BUSCUIT
The original Anzac biscuit, also known as the Anzac wafer or tile, was a hardtack biscuit or long shelf-life biscuit substitute for bread. These were not necessarily popular with soldiers at Gallipoli, but there are now recipes for more edible domestic versions.
EXTRA PHOTOS
SIMPSON AND HIS DONKEY
Twenty-two years old, English-born and a trade union activist, John Simpson Kirkpatrick was an unlikely figure to become a national hero. Having deserted from the merchant navy in 1910, he tramped around Australia and worked in a variety of jobs. He enlisted in the AIF, under the name of John Simpson. expecting this would give him the chance to get back to England. Instead, he found himself at ANZAC Cove on 25 April 1915 serving as a stretcher bearer with the 1st Australian Division during the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I.
In the early hours of the following day, as he was bearing a wounded comrade on his shoulders, he spotted a donkey and quickly began making use of it to carry his fellow soldiers. In fact he used several donkeys. Simpson would sing and whistle, seeming to ignore the bullets flying through the air, while he tended to his comrades.
Colonel (later General) John Monash wrote: “Private Simpson and his little beast earned the admiration of everyone at the upper end of the valley. They worked all day and night throughout the whole period since the landing, and the help rendered to the wounded was invaluable. Simpson knew no fear and moved unconcernedly amid shrapnel and rifle fire, steadily carrying out his self-imposed task day by day, and he frequently earned the applause of the personnel for his many fearless rescues of wounded men from areas subject to rifle and shrapnel fire.”
Simpson and the donkeys continued this work for three and a half weeks, often under fire, until he was killed by machine gun fire, during the Third attack on Anzac Cove. “Simpson and his Donkey” are a part of the “Anzac legend“.
A plaque is displayed at the statue of Simpson and his Donkey in Adelaide, bearing the words …
“So, forever let it be thus, we will care for those who dare, place themselves in harm’s way for us”.
Respect and honour those who served and those who died for us. May the fallen Rest In Peace.