Today is ANZAC Day.
ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
Anzac Day falls on the 25th of April each year. The 25th of April was officially named Anzac Day in 1916.
On the 25th of April 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. These became known as Anzacs and the pride they took in that name continues to this day.
The Anzacs landed on Gallipoli and met fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. Their plan to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate and the campaign dragged on for eight months.
At the end of 1915, the allied forces were evacuated. Both sides suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed.
The meaning of Anzac Day today includes the remembrance of all Australians and New Zealanders killed in military operations. It is a public holiday in both countries.
Many Scouts and Guides in Australia and New Zealand attend Dawn Services, Marches and Overnight Vigils in both countries.
Scouting person and I attended the service last night, as mentioned in the previous post, which was the start of the overnight vigil at the Smithfield Memorial Gardens.
Golden Grove Scouts had a number of youth members attend dawn services around Adelaide, including Elizabeth RSL and Tea Tree Gully RSL.
Scouting human and I attended the Adelaide March, along with the group’s Joey Leader and one Cub / family. Getting into town was an experience and a half – a bus that didn’t turn up, a mad dash to Smithfield Train Station, line up for a coffee (that is a story in itself), the thought that we were going to have rain for the March (it cleared and didn’t rain) and running into Guide Leader friends in the line at the toilets in Adelaide Train Station!
From here, Scouting Human and I headed to Glenelg Oval, to watch Sturt take on Glenelg in a rematch of the 2023 SANFL Grand Final. The SANFL (South Australian Football League) do this every year, schedule the 2 grand finalists in a rematch on ANZAC Day. While the grand final is played itself at Adelaide Oval, the ANZAC Day game is played at the home ground of the winner. Hence, why we went to Glenelg Oval today.
Today, Sturt (our team) won, and really did well, certainly made up for the Grand Final lost last year.
From here, it was time to head home. It had been a long day, but the weather held, we were able to pay our respects to those who served, and see a game of football.
Lest We Forget
