Anzac Day, April 25th is the day Australians and others remember the day that Australian and New Zealand forces landed at Gallipoli during World War 1. It was April 25th, 1915.
Memories
As a child, I don’t recall being involved in any major events on Anzac Day, though I clearly remember the ceremonies. I am sure there were big celebrations in the city of Adelaide at the time. My memory doesn’t serve me well for this.
My parents were both ex-service personnel but they didn’t speak much of it. Dad had a bit of a chip on his shoulder about his Army life – he had wanted to go overseas, but worked out of Alice Springs with the US Military and became very sick. Later he told the story that food was brought into the camp on a truck that also took out the human waste. He believed there was contamination – and that many soldiers caught a type of dysentery. My father was so sick he was transported to Heidelberg Hospital in Melbourne, which was a military hospital at the time. He was medically discharged from the Army after the illness, but rejoined the army a few days later, but was not permitted to do overseas service due to his supposed health problems. He was always angry about the whole event.
In later years, I know he attended RSL services at Brighton in South Australia. My sister and her family attended with him and my mother. I wasn’t even aware of their attendance at these events to many years later.
Attending Anzac Events
I can’t recall how many years I have been attending regular Anzac Services – have been into the big march in Brisbane city on several occasions, and the march at Wynnum, and for the last four years the event at Beachmere. It was the Beachmere event that I attended yesterday. I am so pleased to see that each year there are many more people in attendance. Perhaps it has more significance to people now that the world is not the happy place it has been. With threats in some areas and wars and unrest in others, there is uncertainty.
I drove down to the park where the ceremony was being held but stopped off at the beachfront as the sun rose.
It wasn’t a long wait for the marches. They started on time at 6.45 am, and headed for the corner of Moreton Terrace, where the memorials to fallen servicemen are displayed. There were many at the ceremony. Later I took some photos of the wreaths – I had not seen them earlier.