April 25

gajinoz

gajinoz

Joined
Sep 2, 2003
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For those of you on the other side of the world who don't know:

This coming Monday - April 25 - is one of the important days of the year here in sunny Oz, (and NZ of course).

It's ANZAC Day. The day we commemorate all those who have served, fought and died for their country. There will be marches of veterans in the major cities, dawn services at the war memorials and, of course, the all important dawn service at Gallipoli itself where the ANZAC tradition began 90 years ago. Thousands of Australian go there every year to attend.

My personal connection with all of this is my grandfather who was Lighthorse, (up there with the Gallipoli veterans in the legendary stakes), and served in the Middle East.

You can read more about it HERE if you're interested.

If you have nothing else to do you might like to read a little about the Lighthorse memorial in Canberra HERE.

Just in case you wanted to know :)
 
The Gallipoli campaign was some nasty business to say the least.
I don't know how any of those troops came out of that alive, let alone sane.:eek:
Have a good one!!
 
Mike Hull said:
The Gallipoli campaign was some nasty business to say the least.
I don't know how any of those troops came out of that alive, let alone sane.:eek:
Have a good one!!
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There were over 26,000 Australian casualties, including over 8,000 dead just at Gallipoli alone.

I doubt that many came away entirely sane or, at least, the same as they were when they went in.
 
And now 90 years later, conflict goes on in the same corner of the world.

At least this one is less of a conflagration. I hope it stays that way.
 
Time to bring this to the top.

Gallipoli dead remembered at dawn
The bloody World War I landing of Australian and New Zealand troops in Gallipoli is being marked on Monday.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard, his New Zealand counterpart Helen Clark and Britain's Prince Charles are attending the solemn dawn ceremony.

Tens of thousands, including British and Irish troops, never returned home.

In Sydney, Australian veterans gathered to mark Anzac Day and honour those who died in the eight-month 1915 campaign aimed at capturing Istanbul.

A record crowd of over 20,000 filled Sydney's Martin Place on Monday to remember the nearly 9,000 Australians who died during the hostilities.
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'Coming of age'

The site of the dawn service at Gallipoli itself is named Anzac Cove after the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who landed there on 25 April 1915.

Thousands of visitors from the two countries are attending what is expected to be the largest gathering ever at the site.

"To walk on the battlefields of Gallipoli is to walk on ground where so much blood was shed it has become almost sacred soil," Helen Clark said at a ceremony to honour Turkey's fallen troops on Sunday.

"For New Zealand as for Australia it was at Gallipoli that our young nations came of age."

The Turkish premier, Tayyip Erdogan, underscored how the nations that fought each other at Gallipoli had since developed "friendship and cooperation".

After Sunday's ceremony, Prince Charles is due to visit V Beach, the scene of some of the heaviest losses for British and Irish troops, in the south of the Gallipoli peninsula.

Many historians trace the rise of Australian nationalism to the Gallipoli landings.

"What happened here became deeply etched in the collective memory of nations whose people fought here and even played a part in shaping the peoples and nations we have become," New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said.

Monday marks 90 years to the day since the troops stormed ashore at Suvla on the west coast of Turkey's Gallipoli peninsula.
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(The entire article is available at the link above.)​

More than 100,000 men died during the Gallipoli campaign.​
 
Went to the dawn service this morning. Biggest crowd I've ever seen. Lots of families with small children. Good to see so many Australians remembering the sacrifices that people have made.
 
Tena koutou katoa---greetings everyone.

Hope everyone is having a nice ANZAC Day.
 
We went to the ANZAC march and memorial service in our nearby town this morning. There was the march with all the military services and the veterans with their medals led by the pipes and drums of the local pipe band. After that was the service and the last post. It was finished by a lone piper. A pretty large percentage of the town's population turned out to watch. It's good that so many people make the effort to remember.

After it was all over the wife and I went to the Soldiers Club for some lunch and a refreshment or two. Place was crowded. Perfect weather made it an excellent day.

Trivia item 1: The very first Australian Lighthorse regiment was formed from the men of this district.

Trivia item 2: Banjo Paterson, Australia's favourite poet and story teller, (Man From Snowy River was one of his), who was born not too far from my place, served as an officer in the Lighthorse and was sent to the Middle East.
 
By Paul Chapman in Wellington
(Filed: 25/04/2005)

"Suggestions that Turkey may stop the Maori haka war dance being performed during ceremonies today marking the 90th anniversary of the ill-fated Gallipoli landings have stirred indignation in New Zealand.

The row began when Turkish newspapers reported that the office of RecepTayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, wanted to ban the haka because it was deemed "obscene" and "pornographic".

Officials were said to have declared some of the dance's movements, notably a forward thrusting of the right arm, "sexually suggestive".

One newspaper quoted diplomatic sources as saying that the haka was "against traditional Turkish values, and so it has to be removed from the programme".

Last night Mr Erdogan's office denied that a ban had been imposed.

Wg Cdr Tim Walshe of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, speaking from Gallipoli, said: "We are aware that there is some sensitivity associated with the haka."

He said there was no intention to make the dance part of the official ceremonies, although in recent years New Zealanders attending the services have staged their own unofficial performances.

Pita Sharples, the co-leader of the Maori Party, said: "I am deeply offended by the comments made.'' "

Here's my comment: " Erdogan, you're a clown."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/mai...ip25.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/04/25/ixworld.html

maximus otter
 
Last night there was an interview on Australian TV with a Maori spokesman who made the point that the Haka is a challenge, and that it is suitable for before a battle, but not at a memorial for a battle. It will be interesting to see how many different opinions emerge from New Zealand on this issue.
 
I drove over to Harvey for the dawn service. Plenty of old diggers in these parts. Plenty of Italians too and it was good to see some of them marching – none of the vets give a stuff that they were on the other side back then.

It seemed like a spiritual event for the old vets – the one time a year they allow some memories to come back in the company of those that understand. It seems the grief and sadness doesn’t fade with time for some of these blokes. They just keep it parked somewhere out of the way and deal with it once a year on ANZAC day.

‘It was a grim business, a bloody grim business’ I heard one say to his missus. He looked about the right age to have been in Vietnam. I heard a Vietnam vet speak on TV of how, when he returned home to an unwelcome public, it wasn’t being spat on or called a baby killer that hurt. Going down to the R.S.L. and having the old diggers tell him that he ‘hadn’t been to a real war’. That really hurt. Some of those old differences seem to have healed now as there were plenty of Vietnam vets there – it’s noticeable how many of them are bikies.

Ex football star Dermot Brereton said during the broadcast of the Anzac game that Gallipoli is ‘our Alamo’. No it’s not you pouncey over paid moron – it’s our Gallipoli. Broadcasters linking sporting deeds to wartime bravery was the one thing that grated on the day. These sporting clichés about ‘being in the trenches’ and bravery on the field are rubbish. It doesn’t take courage to play football. Fitness, skill, good reflexes and a bit of pain tolerance is all you need. The constant labelling of these blokes as courageous is an insult to those that were.

This is one of my favourite quotes about the ANZAC’s

Extract from a letter from Lieutenant Leadward, 23rd Brigade, 8th division of the British Army. After a successful counter attack with out any artillery support as requested by Australian troops against a vastly superior German force.

It is my considered opinion that the Australians, in 1918, where better in a battle than any troops on either side. They where not popular. They had a contempt for Britishers to begin with – that is, some Australians voiced such a contempt. I myself heard the expression , ‘not bad for a Britisher’ used by one of them about some successful feat of British arms. They where untidy, undisciplined, cocky, not nice enough even for the taste of Thomas Adkins, but it seems to me indisputable that a greater number of them were personally indomitable, in the true sense of the word, than any other race. I am glad they were on our side.

I’ve had a few peace loving friends scoff at this quote, saying that the ability to dominate is nothing to be proud of and that we Aussies place too much emphasis on it, particularly on the sporting field (especially in Cricket). But they didn’t read the quote. ‘Indomitable’ is a far cry from ‘dominate’ – think about it.
 
gajinoz said:
Trivia item 1: The very first Australian Lighthorse regiment was formed from the men of this district.

Trivia item 2: Banjo Paterson, Australia's favourite poet and story teller, (Man From Snowy River was one of his), who was born not too far from my place, served as an officer in the Lighthorse and was sent to the Middle East.
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G'day Gajinoz

Some more info regarding the First Light Horse Regiment if you're interested:

First Light Horse unit formed in Australia was the Sydney Light Horse Volunteer Corps formed in January 1885.

This became the 1st Light Horse Regiment (N.S.W Lancers) in 1903 based at Parramatta, Sydney. Changed to 7th Light Horse Regiment for 1914-1918 and the 1st Light Horse Regiment of the A.I.F (Australian Imperial Force) formed at Rosebery Park, Sydney from active Light Horse militia regiments and men from country districts who could ride.

After the First World War the 7th (N.S.W. Lancers) reverted to 1st Light Horse Regiment and is currently known as the 1/15 Royal N.S.W Lancers based at Parramatta, Sydney.

They celebrated their 120th birthday this year in February.

A.B 'Banjo' Paterson served as a Major in the A.I.F in Egypt as a remount officer for the Light Horse Regiments.

If you're interested there is a unit history titled "The Royal New South Wales Lancers 1885-1985" which is an excellent source of information regarding the formation of the Light Horse Regiments and specifically dealling with the 1st Light Horse (NSW Lancers). O r see the follwoing Website: http://www.lancers.org.au/


Ferreter
 
"Extract from a letter from Lieutenant Leadward, 23rd Brigade, 8th division of the British Army. After a successful counter attack with out any artillery
support as requested by Australian troops against a vastly superior German force.

It is my considered opinion that the Australians, in 1918, where better in a battle than any troops on either side. They where not popular. They had a contempt
for Britishers to begin with – that is, some Australians voiced such a contempt. I myself heard the expression , ‘not bad for a Britisher’ used by one
of them about some successful feat of British arms. They where untidy, undisciplined, cocky, not nice enough even for the taste of Thomas Adkins, but it
seems to me indisputable that a greater number of them were personally indomitable, in the true sense of the word, than any other race. I am glad they
were on our side."

Great quote. Thanks for posting it.

Indomitable (had to look up the meaning): "Incapable of being overcome, subdued, or vanquished; unconquerable."
 
Ferreter said:
G'day Gajinoz

Some more info regarding the First Light Horse Regiment if you're interested:

First Light Horse unit formed in Australia was the Sydney Light Horse Volunteer Corps formed in January 1885.

This became the 1st Light Horse Regiment (N.S.W Lancers) in 1903 based at Parramatta, Sydney. Changed to 7th Light Horse Regiment for 1914-1918 and the 1st Light Horse Regiment of the A.I.F (Australian Imperial Force) formed at Rosebery Park, Sydney from active Light Horse militia regiments and men from country districts who could ride.
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It's rather interesting when you start doing research on these things.

THIS SOURCE claims that the first Australian Horse (Volunteer) appeared at Murrumburrah on 28 August 1897 (Harden/Murrumburrah is in my neck of the woods). I guess it gets a little complicated when you start trying to work out exactly what was Australian Horse and Lighthorse and when one became the other and so on. In any case, it's interesting.

HERE is a link to a memorial in the area.

At one time I made some enquiries about joining the Lighthorse re-enactment guys but never followed it up. Could have been fun. I can ride and I can shoot, that's all that was required from the original guys! :)
 
gajinoz said:
It's rather interesting when you start doing research on these things.

THIS SOURCE claims that the first Australian Horse (Volunteer) appeared at Murrumburrah on 28 August 1897 (Harden/Murrumburrah is in my neck of the woods). I guess it gets a little complicated when you start trying to work out exactly what was Australian Horse and Lighthorse and when one became the other and so on. In any case, it's interesting.
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The site is correct, the 1st (unit number 1st) Australian Horse was formed in August 1897. It's the usage of the word 'first' that causes the problem. It was the first unit called 'Australian Horse', however it was the third Light Horse regiment that was formed (it became the 3rd Australian Light Horse Regiment in the 1903 re-organisation) after the NSW Lancers and the NSW Mounted Rifles.

You're right, It can be rather complicated but it can also be really interesting. I used to be involved in the Royal NSW Lancers Memorial Museum at Parramatta and it started my interest in Military history which so far covers from the Napoleonic wars upto post WW2.

Ferreter
 
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