Anzac Day

Today is ANZAC DAY - some of you may wonder what that means. Well I'll tell you.....

On the 25th of April 1915, Australian and New Zealand troops landed on the Gallipoli Penisula. Over a period of 8 months, 8,000 men died on this foreign shore. All were volunteers fighting for Mother England. I could give you a lot of history here including the fact that instead of landing on a flat beach they found cliffs which concealed the Turks who picked off 2,000 men on the first day. There is a wealth of information on the subject here and here and a few excerpts  from Ellis Ashmead Bartlett's Diary (he was a war correspondent). There is also his report of the 1st day.

Anzac Biscuits were part of the soldiers rations along with Bully Beef. These biscuits are still made today and personally I think they are great.

A while ago I read Bryce Courtenay's fantastic book 'Solomon's Song' which is the final book in a trilogy starting with 'The Potato Factory' and 'Tommo & Hawk'. There is a lot about the Gallipoli landing based on the facts with a little bit of humanity added which I am not ashamed to say made me weep and sob and cry (while I was on a bus even). The fact is, the historical facts are sad enough, add a hero in to the mix, someone the reader becomes attached to and it gives the battle a new tragic depth. You read this and feel as if you are there along side these soldiers. Personally I was reading with immense pride and sadness.
  

The significance of this day to me? 25th April, 1988 was the day I left Australia L