Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Anzac Day Trivia 2017



Anzac, the acronym for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, was coined in December 1914 when the Australian Imperial Force and the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in Egypt came under the command of Lieutenant-General William Birdwood.

Anzac Day was first observed on April 25, 1916, to commemorate the anniversary of the Gallipoli landing.

Although usually known as ANZACs, their official designation was AIF, which stood for Australian Imperial Forces.

Australian nurses served in Vladivostok, Burma, India, Persian Gulf, Egypt, Greece, Italy, France and England during World War 1.

The names of all Australian service men and women who have been killed in wars are recorded on the Roll of Honour on the walls of the cloisters on either side of the Pool of Reflection at the Australian War Memorial.

An autobiography which describes his experiences as a private during the Gallipoli campaign of World War 1 was A Fortunate Life written by Albert Facey and published in 1981, nine months before his death.

Some of the names John Simpson, full name John Simpson Kirkpatrick, gave to his donkeys were Murphy, Abdul and even Queen Elizabeth but his favourite name was Duffy.


Winston Churchill was First Lord of the Admiralty who planned the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign who later rose to prominence in the Second World War as Prime Minister of Great Britain.

In recent years it has become more common for children to wear their deceased relatives' medals on ANZAC day with The medals should be worn on the right breast as only the original recipients of the medals are entitled to wear them above their hearts on the left breast.

Bully Beef is the name of a canned meat given to soldiers in the field and in World War 1the ANZACs filled the empty cans with nails, bits of metal and gunpowder to make Bully Beef Bombs.

The last Anzac was Alec Campbell who died in 2002, aged 103.
Aussies pin rosemary to their lapels on Anzac day as rosemary is supposed to aid memory, and a type of wild rosemary grew on the slopes of Gallipoli.

In response to a request for help from Russia, which was being attacked by the Turks, the Allies began a campaign in Turkey and were to begin at the Gallipoli Peninsula with the aim of controlling the Dardanelles and then attacking Istanbul then known as Constantinople.

Tradition has it that Light Horse soldiers had the unlikely name of Kangaroo feathers for the plume they wore on their hats.

Admiral Carden, who commanded the British Navy just off of the Egyptian coast, was given the task of spearheading the Gallipoli operation but three days before the main attack was to take place, he fell seriously ill and had to resign.

Apart from New Zealanders and Australians, the Gallipoli landing force included large contingents from France and Britain, an Indian regiment, the Zion Mule Corps raised in Egypt, and troops from Nepal and from Newfoundland, Canada.

In Turkey the Gallipoli Campaign known as The Battle of Çanakkale, commemorated because Turks successfully defended their homeland against a large invasion force.

Two-up, an Australian gambling game that pre-dates WWI by at least 100 years, was popular with ANZACs on the fighting front. Anzac Day is the one day of the year when it is actually legal to play.

Two strange firearms were invented at Gallipoli were the periscope rifle to shoot from concealment in the trenches and the self-firing rifle, which were set up to work automatically, so that there was a pretence that troops were still actively fighting when in fact they were being evacuated.

Australian journalist and historian C. E. W. Bean is most closely associated with Gallipoli and is best remembered as the Editor of the 12-volume Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 published between 1920 and 1942.

During the ANZAC ceremony, the flag, which has been at half-mast, is slowly raised to the masthead following the one minute's silence when The Rouse or Reveille is being played as The Rouse signifies the waking up to a new day.  

The last verse of worker at the British Museum Laurence Binyon's 1914 published For the Fallen is recited at commemorative services on Anzac Day 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.

The 10th battalion, known as The Fighting Tenth had a kangaroo as its regimental mascot.

In 1973 the Turkish Government designated 33,000 hectares of land at the southern tip of the peninsula as Gallipoli National Park as there are numerous war cemeteries and memorials belonging to the different nations involved in this area.

Australian author, historian and servicewoman Patsy Adam-Smith wrote the 1978 book The Anzacs popularising an Anzac legend and went on to share in 1979 The Age Book of the Year Award.

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