Lest We Forget

"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." - Laurence Binyon

ANZAC Day - 25th April

What is ANZAC?

ANZAC is stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps

25th April 1915 was the start of the first campaign that led to major casualties for the Australian and New Zealand armed forces. That campaign was an eight month stalemate in Gallipoli where the Allied Forces attempted to capture Constantinople.

Huge losses occurred on both sides.

ANZAC Day originally was to commemorate those lost at Gallipoli, however it has since become a day to remember all the troops lost in any campaign since then, including soliders more recently lost in 'modern day' warfare such as Afgan.

More personally in our house, my husband finds ANZAC day hard, as he remembers his father. My father in law fought in WW2, and was posted in Tobruk, (so he was a 'rat') and also in Papua New Guinea, on the Kokada Track. He did come home from war, and lived a full life with his beloved wife, and then his two boys. But he would wake at night screaming with nightmares. NIghtmares of horrors he saw, and actions he took under orders and in life and death situations. Images that remained with him for the rest of his life.

You see it is not just the men and women that are lost during war that should be thought off, but all of those who survived. I am not a military person, and I cannot begin to imagine what our men and women of the armed services actually go through, but I'm sure we have all seen enough war movies to have some minute grasp on the situation.

So this small moment of my time, taken out of my day, is my poor tribute to the men that lost their lives, not just the ANZAC, but any of the Allied forces or the enemy. For the families they left behind. For the wounded, physically and mentally. For all who supported the Armed forces. For every man and woman who has served their country past and present.

Lest We Forget.