Lone Pine, Gallipoli, Turkey - you feel incredibly Humble 
Anzac Cove
I would like to introduce you to my Great Great Grandfather Lieutenant Sergeant Edwin Mann(the Gentleman on the left). He fought in World War 1 in France 1915 -1918 around the Boulogne and Rouellas regions. My Great Great Grandfather received the Military Medal for Bravery on the Field when a 100lb (approx 200kg) Bomb landed near his head after breaking thought the roof of his dug out. He then pick up the Bomb and carried it outside, knowing that if it went off inside the dug-out many Soilders and Offices would be kill. He survive the War and returned home to Australia. My Son will wear his Medals at our Dawn Service tomorrow.
Anzac Day is very special to me and as an Australian who spent my primary school years growing up in New Zealand I am extra proud. Anzac Cove was a very Humbling Experience a journey every Australian should make.
Take care and have a great weekend...
oxo Cate
Great posting Cate. Years ago I spent 18 months living in Istanbul and visited Gallipoli during that time. It is an earie place but it brings it all home just what it must have been like.
ReplyDeleteGallipoli also has great meaning to the Turks. This battle saved Turkey from invasion and raised to prominence Mustapha Kemal, later known as Ataturk, the founder of the modern state of Turkey. Had the Turks lost this battle, and had Constantinople fallen to the British, Turkey as we know it today may never have come to be. I especially loved the quote from Ataturk (Turkey's most loved leader)
"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 Mehmets 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".
It is also very special to me no matter where I am in the world.
L x
We are so incredible fortunate that out of such hardship we found friendship and honour.
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