Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Bluedog on April 24, 2004, 07:27:00 AM
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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.
ANZAC(Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) Day (April 25th) 2004 is the eighty ninth anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli at dawn on this day in 1915 by Commonwealth Forces.
Allthough there are no surviving veterans of that day, it has come to be a day of Rememberance for the service men and women of all wars that our young soldiers have fought in.
In a few hours, Aussie and Kiwis in their hundreds of thousands will stand silently as the Last Post plays at dawn in towns and cities accross our nations, remembering those who served, those who returned, and most of all those who gave their lives in service.
Two of my great uncles were killed in the trenches in WWI (one at Ypres, one at Pozierres), both my grandfathers were killed in WWII ,one at the Tol Plantation massacre (the younger brother of the two who died in WWI) and the other died shortly after returning to Australia, the result of spending 3 years in Changi POW camp.
I had two uncles serve in Korea, one with 3RAR who took part in the battle of Kapyong, the other was an RAAF groundcrewman.
Another four uncles(and many family friends) served in Vietnam, three as infantrymen, the other as an RAAF groundcrewman.(all three of the infantryman uncles were wounded in combat, all three survived though)
My cousin served as an MP in Somalia , Rwanda and East Timor, and my best mate from high school is somewhere in Iraq right now.
To me, ANZAC Day has a LOT of meaning.
To those who served, and especially those who did not return, your nation thanks you, and we shall never forget.
Blue
Taken from The Ode for The Fallen,
Laurence Binyon
(1869 - 1943)
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn in drums thrill: Death august and royal
Signs sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
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.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again:
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labor of the daytime;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
felt as a wellspring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars that are known to the Night.
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
to the end, to the end, they remain.
The Ode is taken from the elegy For The Fallen, by English poet and writer Laurence Binyon and was published in London in The Winnowing Fan; Poems of the Great War in 1914.
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Now when I was a young man I carried me pack
And I lived the free life of the rover.
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback,
Well, I waltzed my Matilda all over.
Then in 1915, my country said, "Son,
It's time you stop ramblin', there's work to be done."
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun,
And they marched me away to the war.
And the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
As the ship pulled away from the quay,
And amidst all the cheers, the flag waving, and tears,
We sailed off for Gallipoli.
And how well I remember that terrible day,
How our blood stained the sand and the water;
And of how in that hell that they call Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.
Johnny Turk, he was waitin', he primed himself well;
He showered us with bullets, and he rained us with shell --
And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell,
Nearly blew us right back to Australia.
But the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
When we stopped to bury our slain,
Well, we buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs,
Then we started all over again.
And those that were left, well, we tried to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire.
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
Though around me the corpses piled higher.
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head,
And when I woke up in me hospital bed
And saw what it had done, well, I wished I was dead --
Never knew there was worse things than dying.
For I'll go no more "Waltzing Matilda,"
All around the green bush far and free --
To hump tents and pegs, a man needs both legs,
No more "Waltzing Matilda" for me.
So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed,
And they shipped us back home to Australia.
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane,
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla.
And as our ship sailed into Circular Quay,
I looked at the place where me legs used to be,
And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me,
To grieve, to mourn and to pity.
But the band played "Waltzing Matilda,"
As they carried us down the gangway,
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared,
Then they turned all their faces away.
And so now every April, I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me.
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march,
Reviving old dreams of past glory,
And the old men march slowly, all bones stiff and sore,
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask meself the same question.
But the band plays "Waltzing Matilda,"
And the old men still answer the call,
But as year follows year, more old men disappear
Someday, no one will march there at all.
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda.
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the billabong,
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
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(http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/4panels/images/panel10.jpg)
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives .... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehemets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ... you, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
Tronsky
Lest We Forget
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you aussies and Kiwis work so well in concert.
the Aussies and Kiwis.
Ravs
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May the honorable and selfless sacrifices by those who served your nations, both those who returned and especially those who did not, be remembered and celebrated always. To our worthy and admirable allies, with whom we may have our differences on occassions:
SALUTE
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Thank you Vigil
Ravs
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Brilliant poem
forgive me if I post it again
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn in drums thrill: Death august and royal
Signs sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
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.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again:
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labor of the daytime;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
felt as a wellspring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars that are known to the Night.
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
to the end, to the end, they remain
beautiful.
ravs
ataturk was such a gracious warrior.
Ravs
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I just finished reading Robert K. Maddie's Castles of Steel . While I knew about Gallipoli in general, the detail he provides on the battle, both political and military is outstanding in the context of WWI naval operations.
May all of those who fell there Rest in Peace.
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to all the past and current servicemen and women
Redd
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Why were they called Diggers btw and does this still refer to troops serving?
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The term Digger was australian and new zealand slang for a miner before the great war.
When the ANZACS were ordered to dig in on the hillsides of gallipoli, the front line was said to eventually resemble a mining camp, with aussies and kiwis "digging" left right and centre. It is also said that the British commander at Gallipoli, Hamilton, asked the Australian commander, Birdwood, who were those troops furiously digging into the hillsides, and he replied it was the australians. Either way the name stuck, and by 1917 both N.Z.E.F (new zealand empire force) and especially the A.I.F (australian imperial force) troops were called diggers.
It is stilll used today, and australians who serve overseas are always affectionately called diggers.
Tronsky
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Kiwis and Aussies.
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That time of year again.
Special salute and thankyou to the Diggers now on active service in the Middle East.
PS Tronski, that Attaturk quote is something else isnt it...quite a man.
Johnny Turk, he was waitin', he primed himself well;
He showered us with bullets, and he rained us with shell --
And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell,
Nearly blew us right back to Australia.
We have any Turks among us? A is due them, for it wasn't only Diggers who fell, Johnny Turk stood his ground against a foriegn invader, and made them pay dearly for every inch of ground they occupied, right up to the day the invaders left.
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Let us also not forget 9000 Frenchmen, 21000 British & Irish and 5000 Indian and Empire Troops.
I wonder if there are any Gillipoli servicemen left now?
And so now every April, I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me.
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march,
Reviving old dreams of past glory,
And the old men march slowly, all bones stiff and sore,
They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask meself the same question.
But the band plays "Waltzing Matilda,"
And the old men still answer the call,
But as year follows year, more old men disappear
Someday, no one will march there at all.
Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda.
Who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the billabong,
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
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to the Gallipoli heroes.
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Sadly Pei, the last surviving Gallipoli veteren died last year, they are all gone. At least all the Australian ones are.
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Originally posted by Bluedog
That time of year again.
Special salute and thankyou to the Diggers now on active service in the Middle East.
PS Tronski, that Attaturk quote is something else isnt it...quite a man.
Johnny Turk, he was waitin', he primed himself well;
He showered us with bullets, and he rained us with shell --
And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell,
Nearly blew us right back to Australia.
We have any Turks among us? A is due them, for it wasn't only Diggers who fell, Johnny Turk stood his ground against a foriegn invader, and made them pay dearly for every inch of ground they occupied, right up to the day the invaders left.
Mate that quote has always stuck with me, especially considering how we invaded their country and the turks took us into thier heart!
The turks were an honourable foe, a dogged bugger who really showed their mettle against our blokes. And it is to their credit how they treat Anzac cove and the cemetries there.
It was one of the great losses to our country was the passing of the last Gallipoli diggers.
There is an irony I suppose, 90 years later we're still in the middle east fighting another blokes war with little or no end in sight...I guess thats the true spirit of Anzac, remembering our diggers and thinking of their sacrifices then and like in the case of Shark Zero Two , their sacrifices now.
And thanking the diggers now doing their bit in Iraq now
Tronsky
Lest We Forget
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I just saw some short shot about event in Turkey. ....
Actualy what was official reason to attack turkey at WW2 ?
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Gallipoli was during WW1.
Just before the war, Churchill confiscated 2 Turkish battleships being constructed in Britain because he thought they would be needed in the inevitable war against Germany. The problem was he also kept the money. The ships were paid for by a public appeal and after they were confiscated the Turks were deeply insulted by the British action. The Kaiser seized the opportunity to show up the British, and gave them 2 german battleships replete with crews. The British demanded the turks remove the german ships from their waters, but even without responding Turkey joined the central powers
The campiagn was an attempt to capture the forts covering the dardenelles, so the Royal Navy could sail to Instanbul, which was thought by Churchill would immediately force the Turks to capitulate.
Tronsky
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My mom just got back from a two month trip to Aussie and NZ, she said you people are all too friendly like, now she wants to move down there.
I heard you're inundated with Brit tourists as well.:eek:
g'day...
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