Sunday, April 24, 2011

Anzac Day

G'day. It's Monday morning the 25th of April, just past dawn in the morning as I write this. Today in Australia we celebrate Anzac Day. The day our troops landed at what is known as Anzac Cove in Gallipoli in 1915 during WW1.  Anzac stands for Australian, New Zealand Army Corps. My hubby has gone to the dawn service here in our local town. He goes every year in remembrance of his grandfather Richard, who fought in that great battle. Richard landed about a week after the initial landing as part of a reinforcement battalion and sadly Richard never came home. He lost his life at Lone Pine only a few days after arriving there. Hubby never knew his grandfather, but over the years has collected much information about Richard, from his working life as a Blacksmith to when he joined the Army. Through effort, he has the records of his grandfathers life in the Army until that fateful day at Lone Pine. Richard was not a soldier who won medals for bravery or did anything outstanding that would merit him a place in history, but in some regard he did find a place in history, he fought and died for his country. So as I sit and type this, dawn is just breaking here and I try to think what it must have been like for those first troops that  had just landed on a far away beach in a foreign land, scaling the cliffs, already under fire from the Turks. I cannot imagine what must have been going through their minds, what ordeals they faced, but in our own way here, today we remember them. Hubby and I have never made the trip to visit Lone Pine, it is something we have talked about doing, something that for hubby, I feel that we should do and I hope that in the next year or so we will do.  The picture is of a beautiful and stately gum tree in our front paddock. It is about Australian as you can get and today was a good day to feature it. Take care...

3 comments:

  1. The Man's grandfather was also a victim of World War I. He was wounded on the Somme and died in a hospital near Bordeaux. My sister-in-law has visited his grave, but it is something we still must do. My mother-in-law's whole life was haunted by the loss of her father and it is sobering to think of all the others whose lives were and still are damaged by this compulsion of governments to send their young men off to fight pointless wars...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Broad for your comment.My hubby to some extent is haunted by the loss of his grandfather and the circumstances surrounding it and the fact that he never knew him. Though to some extent he now knows a lot about him through the research that he has done and the few details that his mother and grandmother told him but it is not the same.A trip to Galliopli would set a few demons to rest I think. Take care...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amazing story of your land, I have to admit I do not know much about the land down under, but it's clear that you have a rich history and the fact that hubby has a connection with it, good or bad is a remarkable thing, having a sense of a strong link to history makes it easier to understand on a personal level therefore allowing the meaning to transfer much more fluidly. Also thank you for your words the other day just knowing that I have someone out side my everyday circle of 2 that is rooting for and cares means a grat deal hank you as always my friend.

    ReplyDelete