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What was the Anzac spirit?
THE LANDING AT GALLIPOLI by Sophie Russell
“ANZAC Day is remembered by all Australians in their own way. At
school we have always had an assembly and in the past my most
important thought has been to provide flowers to lay in the ceremony.
After all the research I have done I now have a different appreciation for
ANZAC day. I now understand why so many make the effort to get up so
early in the morning and attend the dawn service. Dawn is the earliest
part of the morning just before the sun is about to rise. This is the time
that the first ANZACs landed on the shores of Gallipoli. It was the hope of
the officers that planned the attack that the darkness would shield their
arrival and help them to find the Turkish forces unprepared.
I can see why they thought it was a good plan to begin with. But do you
know that the beach they landed on was about as wide as our beach at
Redhead. Can you imagine where the surf club is at Redhead beach all
that way up along to the creek is just a big hilly cliff. How would you
climb up that? What shelter did they have from the enemy fire? I don’t
know about you but whenever I run on the sand my legs feel like jelly.
At dawn when they were getting ready to land it would have been cold,
dark and scary but they were all so brave. They jumped out of the boats as
they approached the shore and fought courageously. The ANZACs fought
with their mates by their sides.
A mate might have started as a stranger but when they were fighting with
you side by side they very quickly became your mate. You trusted them
with your life. Sadly many of them lost their lives in that battle. They
didn’t make it home to their families.
When I drive past the memorial at the top of Redhead Road – I used to
think that I was “nearly home” but now I will think of those who never
made it home. I will think of those brave men who sacrificed their lives so
that we could live in peace. They showed the true Aussie Spirit. I
will remember them today; tomorrow and every day because now I truly
understand what it means when we say “Lest We Forget” as part of our
memorial service on ANZAC day.”
Lest We Forget.
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