Commemorating ANZAC day 2010

On the 25th of April each year, tens of thousands of citizens across the world witness the commemoration of ANZAC day. Thousands of Returned Servicemen and Women will parade to remember those comrades in battle who did not return home but gave their lives so that we today should live in peace; remembering sadly also those who returned maimed, crippled and broken in spirit.
In many countries those veterans will be supported by greater numbers of former servicemen and women who served at home as well as serving Servicemen and Women. In many cases the sons and daughters of deceased veterans are encouraged to wear the campaign medals of their late parents on their right breast and march behind the veterans and Servicemen and Women.
ANZAC stands for “Australia and New Zealand Army Corps.”
Historically, the armed forces of Australia and NZ joined and served together for their first action, landing at Gallipoli on the morning of 25 April 1915, to fight against the Turkish Army. The ANZAC’s were accompanied by the British 20th Division. The tragedy of the Gallipoli campaign is well recorded. Losses were horrific and some eight months later, a strategic withdrawal was made on the night of 18th/19th December 1915 without further loss of life.
The ANZAC’s went on to fight in Egypt and Palestine and France but were disbanded in 1917 and subsequently fought, each under their own command.
In the Gallipoli campaign the Australians lost 7,600 dead and NZ lost 2,700. There are 11,000 marked graves of British, French, Indian, Australian and NZ comrades in arms and 30,000 more without a cross or name. Many hundreds of wounded were evacuated through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea to the UK. However, a great many of badly wounded troops were put ashore in Malta and hospitalised there. Many later died of their wounds and were buried in Malta in cemeteries such as Kalkara, Insida, Pieta, Intarfa and Pembroke.
Malta became known as the Nurse of the Mediterranean. 308 ANZACS from the Gallipoli campaign are buried in these cemeteries, 229 Australians and 79 New Zealanders.

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