ANZAC DAY: 110 Years Since Gallipoli

This year marks 110 years since Gallipoli.

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In 2015, on the 100^th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, Brisbane’s Noreen Baxter shared with Seven West Media what her father, veteran George Green, endured at the Turkish peninsula on April 25, 1915.

“He was one of the first to land,” she said. “He just fought. Dad was wounded four times. He carried shrapnel in his back for the rest of his life.”

Australians and New Zealanders will pause to remember soldiers like George Green this coming Anzac Day on April 25.

Australians and New Zealanders will pause to remember soldiers this coming Anzac Day on April 25.

This year, the date marks 110 years since the Gallipoli landings, and commemorations are being held across the country.

“Anzac Day is a time for all Australians to recognise the more than 1.5 million service men and women who have served our country in all conflicts, wars and peacekeeping operations,” the Department of Veteran Affairs said in a statement.

“It’s also a time to remember the over 103,000 Australians who sacrificed their lives in our country’s name.”

National Dawn Service

In Canberra, the Australian War Memorial (AWM) will mark both the 110th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, as well as commemorating the Australians who have served in conflicts and peacekeeping campaigns around the world.

The program includes:
5:30 am: Dawn Service.
7:30am: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Veterans and Services Association Commemorative Ceremony.
9.30am: National Commemorative Service including the RSL ACT Branch Veterans’ March.
6pm: Last Post Ceremony.

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Anzac Day “is one of Australia’s most important national occasions.” – Australian War Memorial

The AWM states that Anzac Day “is one of Australia’s most important national occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.”

For more information visit here.

Sydney Dawn Service

Anzac Day is most poignantly acknowledged trough Dawn Services in Australia and New Zealand.

The dawn of April 25 marks the moment at which the first Australians waded ashore at the now-named Anzac Cove, in Gallipoli, in 1915.

In Sydney, the official NSW Anzac Day Dawn Service is held at the Cenotaph, Martin Place, at 4.20am.

Sydney March

Sydney’s iconic Anzac Day March commences at 9am at the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Martin Place.

Over 10,000 current serving members and veterans of the Australian Defence Force file past the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park “to pay their respects to the fallen,” read the RSL statement.

People are invited to watch the march along Elizabeth Street to “show their support for the brave men and women who have served their country, and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice or suffered as a result of their service.”

The official NSW Anzac Day Dawn Service is held at the Cenotaph, Martin Place, at 4.20am.

It finishes at Liverpool Street at around 12.30pm.

There will then be a commemoration service next to The Pool of Remembrance at the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park South.

For more information visit here.

For local dawn services throughout NSW, visit here.

Customs and traditions

Anzac Day has many customs and traditions, some of which are shared with Remembrance Day on November 11 (the anniversary of the the First World War’s Armistice of 1918).

Last Post

One of the most iconic customs is the Last Post bugle call, which is heard at Dawn Services.

In military tradition, the Last Post signifies the end of the day’s activities. But it is also sounded at military funerals, Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

Laying of wreaths

Flowers have always been laid on graves and memorials in memory of the dead and for Anzac Day it is no different. They are often left at memorials and cenotaphs.

In recent years, the poppy flower, which has long been associated with Remembrance Day, has also been used in wreaths on Anzac Day.

The poppy has long been a part of Remembrance Day.

A minute’s silence is included in most Anzac Day ceremonies as a sign of respect.

“During the First World War, red poppies were among the first plants to spring up in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium,” read an AWM statement.

“In soldiers’ folklore, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their comrades soaking the ground.”

The sight of poppies on a battlefield inspired Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae to write the famous poem, In Flanders Fields.

Moment to reflect

A minute’s silence is also included in most Anzac Day ceremonies as a sign of respect.

It is believed the idea for a moment of silence originated with Melbourne journalist and First World War veteran Edward George Honey, who was living in London in 1919.

According to the AWM, “He wrote a letter to the London Evening News in which he appealed for five-minutes’ silence, to honour the sacrifice of those who had died during the war.”

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