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Anzac Edition . . . | |
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Have you ever wondered about the meaning of various parts of the Anzac Dawn Service? The tradition behind the Catafalaque Party taking post before the service commences,  the significance of Rosemary and the Red Poppies? The Last Post and the Rouse?This Niusleta contains some of the 'traditions, facts and folklore surrounding ANZAC Day to help you better understand the Service. I have written to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in regard to the outstanding issue of a medal for the fuzzy-wuzzy angels. It is an update on previous letters I have sent to previous Prime Ministers, Paul Keating and John Howard. You can help by sending off a letter of support if you agree with the submission below. I have also writted to The Grand Chief, The Hon Sir Michael Somare, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea in regard to proclaiming 'Kokoda Day' on 3 November to honour the service of the New Guinea Wartime Carriers. Please write to him as well if you agree with the submission below as well. We have some interesting responses to 'Show us Your Tats' in our last Niusleta. Will publish them in our post-ANZAC trek edition. Our 'Salute to the 39th Battalion' dinner at Parliament House was an outstanding success - around 180 people attended including 20 veterans from the 39th and one from the 2/14th. We raised $9000 for the Victorian Bushfires Relief Fund and $9000 for our Adventure Kokoda Trust. Our 'Yumi Helpim Pikinnini' program starts this month with each of trek groups being allocated a village to distribute education and health supplies. Our 2009 Kokoda Reunion Dinner will be held in Parliament House, Sydney on Friday, 7 August. The City-to-Surf will he held on Sunday, 9 August - a great opportunity to get some trek groups together and raise some funds to support our 'Yumi Helpim Pikinnini Program. More details in the next edition. I will be leading our annual ANZAC trek across the track on 14 April - we will finish at the Dawn Service at Bomana on ANZAC Day. We are then heading straight back on the track to lead a group of surfies from Cronulla and a group of young Lebanese from Bankstown. This is an inititative of Jason Clare, the Federal Labor Member for Bankstown and Scott Morrison, the Federal Liberal Member for Cook. I will provide a report in our next Niusleta if we survive! Hepi trekking and lukim yu nekstime niusleta, Charlie |
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Medal for Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels . . . | |
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One of the most shameful omissions of successive Australian governments since the end of the war in the Pacific has been their neglect to issue a service medal to the New Guinea Carriers who were conscripted to support Australian troops during our darkest hours in 1942. It is a fact that our troops would have been defeated in the Kokoda campaign without the support of these Carriers. The issue has never been resolved in Australia because of the risk of admitting some form of liability for further compensation. This is a cop-out because the issue of compensation has been resolved between the two governments and any further claims will be managed and resolved by the PNG Government. It has been estimated that some 10,000 PNG nationals served as Carriers in support of the Australians during the Kokoda campaign and it is a matter of historical fact that we would not have been defeated without their assistance. A further 42,000 are estimated to have been indentured to support Australian troops in the Milne Bay and the Buna/Gona campaigns. They were paid 10 shillings per month. After 67 years it will obviously not happen unless we make it happen. If you support the view that the PNG Wartime Carriers - the 'fuzzy-wuzzy angels' should be issued with a medal please contact your Federal Member of Parliament and seek their support by writing to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Click here to read a letter to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Click here to read a more detailed submission regarding the issue |
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Kokoda Day for Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels ... | |
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Australia was unprepared for the war in the Pacific in 1942. Our faith in ‘great and powerful friends’ coming to our aid in the event of Japan entering the war was shattered with the sinking of HMAS Prince of Wales and HMAS Repulse near Singapore on 10 December 1941 and the secret deal struck by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin Roosevelt for American aid to be directed to the European theatre of operations at the expense of the South West Pacific. The defence of Australia and its mandated territory of New Guinea was dependent on untrained militia forces and a small band of New Guinea Rifles as our experienced AIF units were returning from Europe to meet the new threat. Resources were so scarce in New Guinea that young males were forcibly recruited to support the war effort. Many of these men from remote mountain villagers had no idea of the war and were conscripted against their will. They were told that men from Japan were the enemy. For many of these men other villagers living in remote tribal lands were also considered ‘enemy’. One can only imagine the fear and uncertainty they felt as they were forcibly marched away from their families and clans. They were designated as Carriers but were to become known as ‘fuzzy-wuzzy angels’ because of their selfless sacrifice in assisting wounded and sick diggers during the various campaigns. They carried vital war supplies on their bare shoulders in endless lines over hostile and inhospitable terrain. Modern day trekkers are in awe of their efforts. Without this vital link in the chain of our war effort Japan would have been successful in the conquest of New Guinea. Today, 67 years after the Pacific War, they are the only link in the chain not to have received any official recognition. Many claim they were not properly paid. None were ever issued with a medal. No day has been set aside to commemorate their service or sacrifice. It is difficult to understand why successive Australian governments have ignored this important omission. The recent upsurge in interest in the Kokoda campaign by Australian trekkers indicates there is a strong desire for our wartime links with Papua New Guinea to be recognised. This can be achieved by providing them with an incentive to visit, or revisit the country. The proclamation of a ‘Kokoda Day’ dedicated to the wartime carriers would provide this incentive. Click here to read a letter to Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare Click here to read a detailed submission for the declaration of Kokoda Day in Papua New Guinea |
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It's The Kokoda Trail . . . cobber, sport & mate! | |
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During my time in the army every official word and action we ever took was governed by a protocol called 'Staff Duties'. It was similar to a book of etiquette on what you should or shouldn't do or say in a particular situation. If you breached the guidelines in the 'Staff Duties' manual you generally needed to cancel any weekend engagements you might have had for the following month! Army 'Staff Duties' provided clear guidelines on how to handle relationships with seniors, subordinates and strangers. If ever we were in doubt about a name, situation or protocol - the fallback position was to 'do what they do in Rome' and consult the 'Staff Duties' manual. So it is with Kokoda. Before, during and immediately after the war the track across the Owen Stanley Range was known as the Kokoda Trail. After Prime Minister Paul Keating put the track back on the map when he kissed the ground on the Kokoda plateau on the 50th anniversary of the Kokoda campaign a vocal group of latter day historians (who had never served in any Service in any capacity) began to bleat about the fact that 'trail' was an American term. There was some confusion for awhile as the issue was hotly debated. In this situation the army 'Staff Duties' manual would instruct one to use the official title. According to my research the official name for the track across the Owen Stanley Ranges between Owers Corner and Kokoda is 'The Kokoda Trail'. The reference is PNG Government Gazette No. 88 of 12 October 1972, page 1362, column 2. Notice 1972/28 of the PNG Place Names Committee). The official custodian of our military history, The Australian War Memorial, agrees - their reference is their official magazine 'Wartime - Volume 19, 2002. I am not aware of any later references to any other name. If anybody can advise me of a later PNG Government Gazette that overrides the above reference - or a later volume of 'Wartime' from the Australian War Memorial then we should accept the 'Staff Duties' protocol and refer to it as 'The Kokoda Trail'. Click here to read a letter sent to me by the late Major General Paul Cullen on the debate. Click here to read a letter to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on the issue |
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ANZAC Day Commemoration ... | |
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Since 1915, one day in the year has involved the whole of Australia in solemn ceremonies of remembrance, gratitude and national pride. That day is ANZAC Day - 25 April. Why does the Nation pause to commemorate what most historians choose to  describe as a failure or a s sad series of blunders? It is because every person and every nation must, sooner or later, come for the first time to a supreme test of quality; and the result of that test will hearten or dishearten those who come afterwards? For Australia as a nation that fist supreme test began in the early hours of Sunday 25 April 1915 on the Gallipoli Peninsula in the Eastern Mediterranean.The historical lead-up to the events which took place came to boiling point with the commencement of World War 1 on 4 August 1914. Historians have long since analyzed the motivations on all sides which led our national leaders to commit our country to the conflict, and our extraordinary volunteer army to respond to the call to arms were very simple. Most of the colonists had come originally from the United Kingdom which they continued to call 'Home' or 'The Mother Country'. When war appeared inevitable, on 31 July 1914, the great Labor leader, Andrew Fisher, made his famous statement: 'Should the worst happen, after everything has been done that honour will permit, Australians will stand beside the mother country to help and defend her to the last man and the last shilling.' On the following night the Liberal Prime Minster, Joseph Cook, said, 'If the old country is at war so are we.' On the 4 August an offer of 20,000 men was made and ten weeks later the first contingent of volunteers was on the water bound for Egypt. For volunteers, apart from the sentimental motivation, there was a very strong strain of idealism. The believed that a small nation (Belgium) was being trampled underfoot by a mighty power, and that their role was - as the children of the time sang in the schools - To help the weak against the strong, To guard the right against wrong, And bear the flag of Truth along. As they sailed towards Egypt one of the few pieces of 'grand strategy' in World War 1 was being developed. The idea was to capture the outlet from the Baltic Sea in order to relieve pressure on our Russian allies in the Caucasus and influence Bulgaria to join the allied cause. It is not unreasonable to believe that success would have greatly shortened the war and saved millions of lives on both sides. On 8 August the Allies were on the very verge of success; but the campaign was narrowly lost. The Gallipoli campaign lasted from 25 April until 20 December 1915. Australia's test of nationhood began in the darkness of that fateful Sunday morning on 25 April. The soldiers landed in the dark under fire; and always under heavy fire, climbed precipitous cliffs mostly covered by prickly oak scrub through which progress was difficult even for the strongest. Individual courage and initiative won a foothold on the plateau and the ridges, which for the next eight months saw epic valour and endurance on both sides. Apart from the heavy casualties from attack and counter-attack the lines were so close that there was no respite from bombs, shells and mines. Mental strain and physical illness reduced the bodies of our finest youth to gaunt skeletons held together only by determination. Finally pressures of other theatres of war led to the evacuation, itself a casualty-free miracle. Any senior student who fails to read the accounts of Gallipoli by Australia's Alan Moorehead and England's John Masefield is failing to take up an important share of his or her national heritage. It was not that Gallipoli, with all its casualties, hardship and suffering was worse or even as bad as the experiences of later campaigns, or the suffering of defence forces and civilians in later conflicts. But because it was the first great national test of our young men in the horror of war it has become the focal point of remembrance and gratitude for the fallen and the broken in health of all wars; of the contributions made by civilian workers in areas subject to attack; and of the continuous heartbreak and courage of the women and children whose agony of fear became a reality of deprivation. So every year, on or near 25 April, we have a time of remembrance and gratitude to those who helped to keep our country free from invasion and our way of life free of choice; to acknowledge our debt to their mothers, wives and children, and our obligation to those who through their sacrifice now need our help. Beyond that we have a responsibility that the heritage brought at so costly a price should not suffer in our hands; that the word ANZAC does not so much commemorate an event as a standard of character in action which we must maintain in all circumstances - in peace as in war. |
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No foe shall gather our harvest ... | |
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Sons of the mountains of Scotland, Welshman of coomb and defile, Breed of the moors of England, Children of Erin's green isle. We stand four square to the tempest, Whatever the battering hail - No foe shall gather our harvest, Or sit on our stockyard rail. Our women shall walk in honour, Our children shall know no chain, This land, that is ours forever, The invader shall strike at in vain. Anzac!...Tobruk!...and Kokoda!... Could ever the old blood fail? No foe shall gather our harvest, Or sit on our stockyard rail. So hail-fellow-met we muster, And hail-fellow-met fall in, Wherever the guns may thunder, Or the rocketing air-mail spin! Born of the soil and the whirlwind, Though death itself be the gale - No foe shall gather our harvest Or sit on our stockyard rail. We are the sons of Australia, Of the men who fashioned the land; We are the sons of the women Who walked with them hand in hand; And we swear by the dead who bore us, By the heroes who blazed the trail, No foe shall gather our harvest, Or sit on our stockyard rail. |
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Catafalque ... | |
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Catafalque Legend has it that the first catafalque (cat-a-falk) parties guarded important and wealthy people’s coffins from thieves and vandals. A catafalque, normally a raised platform supporting a pier on which a coffin rests, may be represented for ceremonial purposes by a shrine or remembrance stone.At a memorial services for a distinguished person, which is being held a t a different location or time to the actual funeral, a representation of a catafalque may be erected in the churches concerned. A catafalque party is a guard mounted over a catafalque on any one of the following occasions: • during a period of lying in state, • during a military funeral in a church, • at a memorial or special occasions such as ANZAC Day or Remembrance Day, and • during a memorial service in a church for a recently deceased distinguished personage. A catafalque party consists of four sentries, a waiting member in reserve and a commander. A catafalque party must not be senior in rank to the deceased over whom it is mounted. If a catafalque party is requested to be mounted for an extended period of e.g. ‘lying in state’ then a series of ‘watches’ divided into ‘vigil’ periods. |
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Sir ... | |
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Sir -
would it help if I shed a tear I swear it’s the the first time since this time last year My spine is a tingle – my throat is all dry As I stand to attention for all those who died I watch the flag dancing half was down the pole That damn bugle player sends the chills to my soul I feel the pride and the sorrow – there’s nothing the same As standing to attention on ANZAC Day So Sir, on behalf of the young and the free Will you take a message when you finally do leave To your mates that are lying from Tobruk to the Somme The legend of your bravery will always live on I’ve welcomed Olympians back to our shore I’ve cheered baggy green caps and watch Wallabies score But when I watch you marching (Sir) in that parade I know these are the memories that never will fade So Sir – on behalf of the young and the free Will you take a message when you finally do leave It’s the least we can do (Sir) to repay the debt We’ll always remember you – Lest we Forget Damien (Dib) Morgan |
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Colours Tell the Story ... | |
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The custom of dedicating and laying up Colours in churches and in memorials has its origins in antiquity. Colours themselves originated from the days of early man who fixed his family badge to a pole and held it aloft in battle to both indicate his position and to provide a rallying point for his troops. Regardless of origin, design and form, Colours and the insignia are symbolic of a fighting unit’s spirit and a visual record of gallant deeds performed by the members of the unit. These are recorded by reference to the location of the deed and on Colours are called Battle Honours. The custom of laying up the Colours has dictated that a regiment’s Colours should be preserved in the appropriate church of the town with which the regiment was identified, providing as it were a link with eternity. The visual presence of the Colours in a church make it possible to rally future generations and to remind those who have not had the experience, of the heights to which the human spirit can soar as a group of resolute men channel their convictions into sweat and sacrifice for goals deemed worthy. Guidons, swallow-tailed pennants borne on a lance or a pike, are the Armoured Corps’ counterpart of Infantry Colours. The guns of the the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery are the Regiment’s Colours. The rallying point for the gunners has always been the guns and the gunners are instilled with the tradition of serving their guns under fire – to abandon them is still the ultimate disgrace. The Artillery’s guns are accorded the same compliments and respect as the Infantry’s Colours and the Armoured Corp Guidons. Colours have always had significance for soldiers. An 18th Century military writer recorded the following colours and their military meanings: . YELLOW: honour, which should never be in question . WHITE: innocence and truth . BLACK: wisdom and sobriety . BLUE: faith and constancy . RED: justice . GREEN: good hope . PURPLE: fortitude with discretion . TAWNY: merit In the old tradition, if a mortally wounded ensign wrapped the Colours around his body and died with them, the Colours were not considered lost. The honour of the Colours was carried with the ensign’s soul to heaven “to the possession of the eternal forever” and the enemy was denied the honour of having captured them. It was a soldier’s duty to pick up the Colours and, at all costs, save them. “Indeed a greater act of cowardice cannot be found that to suffer the Colours to be lost”, records Francis Grose in his Military Antiquities (1786 – 88). Associations or returned servicemen have also designed banners which are used as rallying points for ceremonies of significance such as ANZAC Day and other memorial services. These too are symbolic of the unit’s spirit, and its service. Source: Anzac Day: Traditions Facts and Folklore |
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Medals ... | |
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Medals for bravery or participation in campaigns can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians and Romans, where plaques of  brass or copper were awarded for outstanding feats of bravery. However, the first British medals to be issued and classed as such, didn't appear until 1588 when they were struck by Queen Elizabeth 1 upon the defeat of the Spanish Armada. They were made from gold and silver and were fitted with rings and chains for suspension around the neck.In 1643 King Charles 1 awarded a medal for conspicuous conduct to Robert Welch, for recovering the Royal Standard during the first battle of the English Civil War, the Battle of Edgehill. He thus is seen as the first British Monarch to make an award in the form of a military medal for prowess on the battlefield. In 1650 Oliver Cromwell issued the first campaign medal which was awarded to both officers and men. It was knows as the Dunbar Medal and commemorated the defeat of the Scots Royalist at Dunbar. This medal too was suspended from the neck. The first official war medal, as we know them today, was the 1815 Waterloo Medal. It was issued with a ribbon and an instruction stating ' . . . the ribbon issued with the medal shall never be worn but with the medal suspended on it.' From this time on medals were struck for nearly every engagement and later medals were introduced as honours and awards, There is today some confusion about the difference between Honours and Awards, and Orders, Decorations and Medals. An Honour is an appointment made to and Order (eg. The Order of Australia), whilst Awards cover Decorations and Medals. Decorations include the Victoria Cross, the Star of Courage, both of the Conspicuous Service Cross and medal. Medals cover the Member of the Order of Australia and the Medal of the Order of Australia (the term 'medals' includes the badges of the 4th and 5th classes of orders and decorations which are worn as medals) as well as medals for campaigns and long service. A current popular method of wearing medals is in the style known as 'court mounted'. This method has the ribbons going back behind the medals and it was designed to stop the medals 'clinking' against each other as the personnel moved about in the British Royal Courts. In recent times more and more young people are taking part in the ANZAC March. There are no surviving World War 1 veterans and the ranks of World War 2 veterans are thinning with each passing year. Sons, daughters, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are choosing to march on behalf of relatives who have passed on or who because of age or infirmity are no longer able to take part in the parade. Many proudly wear the medals of the veterans they are representing. Medals worn on behalf of another should be pinned over the right breast. |
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The Victoria Cross ... | |
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Of all the orders and decorations open to members of the Australian Defence Force, the Victoria Cross remains the most honoured, the most coveted. It marks its wearer as one possessing supreme courage, a disregard for danger and complete devotion to duty. The Victoria Cross (VC) was instituted on 29 January 1856 and was made retrospective from 1 August 1854. Prior to the Crimean War, there was no recognised gallantry medal, but the individual deeds in that war made the creation of such an award, available to officers and men alike, necessary. The Victoria Cross, according to the Instituting Royal Warrant establishing rules and ordinances governing its bestowal, shall only be awarded for the most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour of self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. In the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No 525, Monday 4 February 1991, the Victoria Cross took its place as the highest Australian award in the Australian System of Honours and Awards. It may be awarded to members of the Defence Force or other persons determined by the Minister of State for Defence. Bars are awarded for further similar acts of bravery. The Victoria Cross may also be awarded posthumously and recipients are entitled to use the letters VC after their names. The design remains identical in every way to the British award, a Maltese Cross in bronze adorned by a crown surmounted by a lion, with a scroll bearing the inscription 'For Valour'. On the reverse is the date of the action and the name and regiment of the holder are inscribed on the back of the suspension bar. The ribbon is red for all services, although until July 1918, the Royal Navy used the blue ribbon. The Cross has, from the first, been made by Messrs. Hancock, London Jewellers and is hand fashioned. The metal used is taken from the guns captured from the Russians at Sebastopol during the Crimean War 1854-56. The glorious fellowship of the Victoria Cross remains unique, it has no order nor chapel. The insignia is a small bronze cross costing a few dollars. It is confined to no cast, imposes no religious requirement nor colour bar. In the words of the warrant 'Neither rank nor long service, nor wounds, nor any other circumstance or condition whatsoever, save the merit of conspicuous bravery'. The Cross has been granted to 13 persons of non-British origin, including three Danes, a German, as Swiss, a Belgian and one Ukrainian. The first presentation of the new decoration was made by Queen Victoria in Hyde Park on 26 June 1857, when 62 sailors and soldiers received the award. the Prince Consort conceived the idea, but the Queen herself was personally responsible for much of the rest. She altered 'For the Brave' to 'For Valour' and ordered that the Cross should be awarded onto 'top those officers and men who have served us in the presence of the enemy.' The first Australian to gain the Victoria Cross was Captain (later Sir Neville) Howse for rescuing a wounded man on 24 July 1900 while serving as an officer of the NSW Army Medical Corps during the South African War 1899-1902 (Boer War). The youngest Australian to earn the Victoria Cross was Private J.W.A jackson VC, who was 18 years 9 months. . |
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The Dawn Service ... | |
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The ANZAC Dawn Service has become an integral part of commemorations on 25th April. However, credit for its origin is  divided between the Reverend Arthur Ernest White of Albany, WA and Captain George Harrington of Toowoomba, Queensland.Reverend White was a padre of the earliest ANZACs to leave Australia with the First AIF in November 1914. The convoy assembled at Albany's King George Sound in WA and at 4 am on the morning of their departure, he conducted a service for all men. After the war, White gathered some 20 men at dawn on 25 April 1923 on Mt Clarence overlooking King George Sound and silently watched a wreath floating out to sea. He then quietly recited the words 'As the sun rises and goes down we will remember them'. All were deeply moved and the news of the ceremony soon spread. White is quoted as saying that 'Albany was the last sight of land these ANZAC troops saw after leaving Australian shores and some of them never returned. Wed should hold a served (here) at the first light of dawn each ANZAC Day to commemorate them'. At 4 am on ANZAC morning 1919 in Toowoomba, Captain Harrington and a group of friends visited all known graves and memorials of men killed in action in World War 1 and placed flowers on the headstones. Afterwards they toasted their mates with a rum. In 1920 and 1921 these men followed a similar pattern but adjourned to Picnic Point at the top of the range and toasted their mates until the first rays of dawn appeared. A bugler sounded the 'Last Post' and a 'Reveille'. There is not standard format for the Dawn Service, but a general guide is: assembly, bugle calls 'Long G' followed by 'Last Post' at exactly 4.28 am (the time of the original ANZAC landing), two minutes' reverent silence, a hymn, short address, placing of floral tributes, a second hymn, bugle call 'Reveille' and the singing of the national anthem. |
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Laying of Wreaths ... | |
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Flowers have traditionally been laid on graves and memorials in memory of the dead.  Rosemary, symbolising remembrance, is popular on ANZAC day. Laurel is also a commemorative symbol; woven into a wreath, it was used by the ancient Romans to crown victors and the brave as a mark of honour. In recent years, the poppy, strongly associated with Remembrance Day (11 November), has also become popular in wreaths on ANZAC Day. After laying the wreat it is customary to step back one pace and stand at attention in silence with head bowed for a short period. It is customary for veterans to cover their medals with their right hand during this time. |
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Red Poppies for Sacrifice ... | |
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November is poppy month, the time of the year when by the wearing of simple emblem, a red poppy, we salute the memory of those who  sacrificed their health, their strength, even their lives, that we might live in a free country.Long known as the corn poppy (Papaver rhoeas) because it flourishes as a weed in grain fields, the Flanders poppy as it is now usually called, grew profusely in the trenches and craters of the war zone. Artillery shells and shrapnel stirred up the earth and exposed the seeds to the light they needed to germinate. This same poppy also flowers in Turkey in early spring - as it did in April 1915 when the ANZACs landed at Gallipoli. According to australia's official war historian C.E.W. Bean, a valley south of ANZAC beach got its name Poppy Valley 'from the field of brilliant red poppies near its mouth'. Whilst the red poppy is a symbol of modern times, legend has it that the poppy goes back to the time of the Mogul leader, Genghis Khan, as the flower associated with human sacrifice. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Mogul Emperor led his warrior hordes on campaigns south to India, and west to envelop Russia as far as the shores of the Black Sea. the policy adopted by the armies of Genghis Khan was simple and effective. They would isolate their enemies, surround and completely annihilate them. the legend states that on the battlefields that were literally drenched with blood, white poppies grew in vast profusion. The modern story of the poppy is, of course, no legend. In the years immediately following World War 1, governments and the whole of society, had not accepted the responsibility for those incapacitated and bereft as a result of war. In Britain, unemployment accentuated the problem. Earl Haig, the British Commander-in-Chief, undertook the task of organising the British Legion as a means of coping with the problems of hundreds and thousands of men who had served under him in battle. In 19212, a group of widows of French ex-servicemen called on him at the British Legion Headquarters. They brought with them from France some poppies they had made, and suggested that they might be sold as a means of raising money to aid the distressed among those who were incapacitated as a result of the war. The first red poppies to come to Australia, in 1921, were made in France. In Australia, single poppies are not usually worn on ANZAC Day - the poppy belongs to Remembrance Day, 11 November. However, wreaths of poppies are traditionally placed at memorials and honour boards on ANZAC Day. The red Flanders' poppy was first described as a flower of remembrance by Colonel John McCrae, who was Professor of Medicine at McGill University of Canada before World War One. Colonel McCrae has served as a gunner in the Boer War, but went to France in World War One as a medical officer with the first Canadian contingent. At the second battle of Ypres in 1915, when in charge of a small first-aid post, he wrote in pencil on a page torn from his despatch book: In Flanders's fields the poppies blow  between the crosses, row on row That mark our place, and in the sky The larks still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead, short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow. Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders's Fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe, To you from failing hands we throw The Torch: be yours to hold it high! If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders' fields. The versus were apparently sent anonymously to the English magazine, Punch, which published them under the title, In Flanders' Fields. Clonel John McCrae died while on active duty in May 1918. On the eve of his death he allegedly said to his doctor, "Tell them this. If ye break the faith with us who die se shall not sleep". His volume of poetry, In Flanders' Fields and Other Poems, was published in 1919. The wearing of the poppy to keep faith began when an American, Miss Moira Michael, read the poem "In Flanders Field" and was so greatly impressed that she decided always to wear a poppy to keep the faith. Miss Michael wrote a reply after reading "In Flanders Field" entitled "We Shall Keep the Faith": Oh! You who sleep in Flanders' fields, Sleep sweet - to rise anew; We caught the torch you threw; And holding high we kept The faith with those who died. We cherish, too, the Poppy red That grows on fields where valour led. It seems to signal to the skies That blood of heroes never dies, But lends a lustre to the red Of the flower that blooms above the dead In Flanders' Fields. And now the torch and poppy red Wear in honour of our dead Fear not that ye have died for naught We've learned the lesson that ye taught In Flanders' Fields. |
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Rosemary is for Remembrance ... | |
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Rosemary is a small perennial shrub of the mint family. Native to the Mediterranean region, this compact evergreen  with clusters of small light blue flowers has leaves that yield a fragrant essential oil used in making perfume and to flavour food.Legend says that the Virgin Mary, while resting, spread her cloak over a white flowering rosemary bush. The flowers turned the blue of her cloak, and from then on the bush was referred to as the 'Rose of Mary'. This plant was, in ancient times, supposed to strengthen memory. Greek scholars wore rosemary in their hair to help remember their studies, and the association with remembrance has carried through to modern times. On ANZAC Day, the wearing of small sprigs of rosemary in the coat lapel, pinned to the breast or held in place by medals is thus synonymous with remembrance and commemoration. |
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The Digger ... | |
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The nickname 'Digger' is attributed to the number of ex-gold diggers in the early army units and to the trench digging activities of the Australian soldiers during World War 1. The actual origin of the name has been lost in time, however, the Australian soldier is known affectionately around the world as the Digger. |
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Last Post ... | |
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The bugle call Last Post is inextricably part of the end of day traditions which include Beating the Retreat and Tattoo. Retreat is the older custom dating back to the 16th Century and consisting of prolonged drum beating at sunset to warn the night guard to mount and also to give notice that the gates of the town walls were about to close. This custom was also part of the end of day battle procedure when volleys were fired and a hymn played in honour of those had fallen during the day. At this time of evening the colour would be trooped. Today this latter activity is replaced by the lowering of the National Flag. There is some confusion over the ‘post’ calls. It seems that the ‘First Post’ and Last Post came into being in the early part of the 19th Century. The ‘First Post’ was sounded as the orderly officer, the orderly sergeant and a drummer (with a bugle) started the Tattoo. They then marched from post to post with the drummer beating his drum. Upon reaching the final post the drummer would sound the Last Post. (This is why drummers carry a bugle.) The Last Post was really the end of the day (a hard day’s fighting and a hard night’s drinking). This bugle call as been passed down through the centuries in many countries of the world as an accompaniment to the impressive rites of a s soldier’s farewell – the closing bars wail out their sad valediction to the departing warrior. Source: Christopher Jobson |
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Reveille or Rouse ... | |
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The custom of waking soldiers to a bugle call dates back to the Roman Legions when the rank and file were raised by horns playing  Dianals Hymn. To this day the French term for Reveille is ‘La Diana’.When bugle calls were officially introduced into the British System by George 111, a special call was written for the waking of troops. This was known as Reveille meaning to ‘to wake’ again, from the old French. Joseph Hayden is generally regarded as the composer of the calls which exist substantially unchanged today. On ANZAC Day, Reveille or Rouse breaks the silence that follows the playing of the Last Post, symbolising the awakening of the dead in the next and better world. (Rouse is the bugle call more commonly used in conjunction with the Last Post and to the layman is often incorrectly called Reveille. Although associated with the Last Post, Reveille is rarely used because of its length. Source: The booklet ‘Remember’ and the RSL Handbook |
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A Minute's Silence ... | |
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Silence for one or two minutes is included in the ANZAC Day ceremony as a sign of respect and a time for reflection. The idea for the two-minutes silence is said to have originated with Edward George Honey, a Melbourne journalist and First World War veteran who was living in London in 1919. He wrote a letter to the London Evening News in which he appealed for five-minutes silence, to honour the sacrifice of those who had died during the war. In October 1919 Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, a South African, suggested a period of silence on Armistice Day in all the countries of the empire. Fitzpatrick's idea had its origins in a period of silence that was observed at noon in Cape Town following heavy losses among the South African Brigade on the Western Front; this observance continued until the end of the war. Fitzpatrick's idea was presented to King George V, who readily agreed to the proposal. But after a trial with the Grenadier guards at Buckingham Palace, at which both Honey and Fitzpatrick were present, the period of silence was shortened to two minutes. The connection between Honey and Fitzpatrick, and their ideas, if any existed at all, is unclear. On 6 November 1919 the King sent a special message to the people of the Commonwealth: 'I believe that my people in every part of the Empire fervently wish to perpetuate the memory of that Great Deliverance, and of those who laid down their lives to achieve it'. The King continued to ask that "a complete suspension of all our normal activities" be observed for two minutes at "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" so that "in perfect stillness the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the Glorious Dead". Two-minutes silence was first observed in Australia on the first anniversary of the armistice and continues to be observed on Remembrance Day. The two-minutes silence has over the years been incorporated into ANZAC Day and other commemorative ceremonies. |
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The Lone Piper and Flowers of the Forest ... | |
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The origins of the lone piper are obscure, although a lone piper has been a feature of Scottish military ceremonies for several hundred years. The bagpipes are the traditional instrument of the people of the Scottish highlands and have been carried into battle with Scottish soldiers from the days of William Wallace to the Falklands War of 1982. Traditionally, in Scottish units a lone piper takes the place of a bugler to signal the day's end to troops (see Last Post) and, as such, also bids farewell to the dead at funerals and memorial services. It is unclear when pipers first became a feature of Australian memorial services. With the significant size of Australia's expatriate Scottish community in the early decades of the 20th century, represented by several Scottish battalions in the Militia, the presence of a piper probably became established during the 1920s. Flowers of the forest is the tune usually played on these occasions. It is a traditional Scottish lament (song of mourning and remembrance). |
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Sonnet for ANZAC Day ... | |
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Sound the Last Post again, lest we forget The freedom that we cherish has been bought . . . Not found like mushrooms in the field; the debt Is ours to pay, mindful of those who fought And fell . . . yet still they held the torch aloft! May we remain as zealous to withstand The traitors who would make our fibres soft, As well as enemies beyond the land. The trumpet has the power to move us still, And though the debris of a flood of years Lies over hand and mind, and aching thrill Comes rising perilously close to tears. Sound the Last Post to hold the memory bright, Then sound the Rouse and keep the torch alight. |
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The Slouch Hat and Emu Plumes ... | |
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The Slouch Hat  What was the origin of the famous Digger hat? According to what was known years ago as the New South Wales Ordnance Department, it was born from a shortage of helmets during the South African War. Sir Harry Chauvel traced the hat from Tyrolean style which was first worn by the South African Police and later (in the early nineties) by the Victorian Mounted Rifle Regiment. The first unit to top its uniform off with the slouched felt hat was the Imperial Bushmen's Corp, which was raised by public subscription on a Federal basis in January, 1900. Military stocks were notoriously short at this transitional period of Federation and in Adelaide, at least, the hat was simply an emergency issue. However, once they received these hats, the Bushmen fought like devils to retain them. The Victorians, under the command of Colonel 'Tom' Price, who had their hats replaced by helmets, organised a mass raid on the lines of a British Yeomanry Regiment, from which they emerged felt-hatted to a man. Commencing in 1937 upon the suggested abolition of the slouch hat, the London Daily Mail, in a leading article, entitled 'The Old Shako', expressed regret that the prosaic peaked cap was supplementing the Australian wartime headgear. 'The mind leaps back 20 years,' it said, 'and summons a picture of the Aussies, young, spare, and magnificently athletic, with their brown faces under slouch hats pinned up by the famous Australian badge.' The Poet Laureate (John Masefield) paid the following tribute to the hat: 'Instead of an idiotic cap that provided no shade to the eye, or screen for the back of the neck, that would not stay on in a wind, nor help to disguise the wearer from air observation, these men (the Diggers) wore comfortable soft felt slouch hats that protected in all weather and at all times looked well.' The cadets at the Royal Military College Duntroon wear their chin straps back-to-front. This custom goes back to the death of Major General Sir William Bridges at Gallipoli in 1915. Bredges was the founder of the College and it is said that when he was shot he had his hat on back-to-front; in respect, the cadets at the College turned their hats around. Today the hat is worn correctly, however the chin strap is placed with the buckles on the right-hand side of the face. Emu Plumes During the Great Shearers' Strike of Queensland in 1891, the Queensland Mounted Infantry were called out to aid the civil powers. The QMI patrolled the Western Plains and to defeat boredom, the troopers would ride down the emus which, at the time, were in great abundance. It was the Gympie Squadron which first seized on the idea of wearing the feathers in their hats (a design said to be attributed to Lieutenant General Sir Harry Chauvel) and before the strike was ended the entire regiment was wearing them. By the early days of the First World War all the Queensland regiments of the Light Horse were wearing the feathers in their hats but, in 1915 a non-Queensland brigade, the 3rd Light Horse Brigade arrived in Egypt wearing the plumes. After a dispute, the Minister for Defence, Senator Pearce, ruled that all units of the Australian Light Horse would wear the plumes and today they are also worn by members of the Cavalry Regiments. Christopher Jobson |
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The Rising Sun Badge ... | |
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One of the mainsprings of an army is its esprit-de-corps - that spirit which gives a soldier purpose and the endurance to carry on when others might give up. In the prolonged and bitter struggles of World War 1 and World War 2, the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Australian Imperial Force (AIF) had this esprit-de-corps, and its focal point was a humble badge. The so-called 'Rising Sun' badge, worn on the up-turned brim of a slouch hat, typified the Spirit of ANZAC - the camaraderie of Australian soldiers to fight for the Crown and the British Empire. In 1902 a badge was urgently sought for the Australian contingents raised after Federation for service in South Africa during the Boer War. The most widely accepted version of the origins of this badge is the one that attributes the selection of its design to a British officer, Major General Sir Edward Hutton, the then newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Forces. Hutton had earlier received as a gift from Brigadier General Joseph Gordon ,a military acquaintance of long-standing, a 'Trophy-of-Arms' comprising mounted cut and thrust swords and triangular Martini Henri bayonets which were arranged in a semi-circle around the Crown. To General Hutton the shield was symbolic of the cooperation of the naval and military forces of the Commonwealth. A refurbished replica of the shield is on display in the main foyer of the Army Office in Canberra. The original design, which was created and produced in haste, was modified in 1904. This badge carried a scroll inscribed AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH MILITARY FORCES and it was worn throughout both World Wars. In 1949, when corps, and regimental badges were re-introduced into the Army, the inscription on the scroll was changed to read AUSTRALIAN MILITARY FORCES. In 1991 a new design was produced which is now on issue. The inscription now reads - AUSTRALIAN ARMY. The 'Rising Sun' badge was originally entitled the General Service Badge. It will, however, always be referred to as the 'Rising Sun'. Christopher Jobson |
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The Military Salute ... | |
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The exact origin of the military salute has been lost in time, however it is believed that it probably originated first by showing that the right hand (the fighting hand) was not concealing a weapon. Another line of thought is, when men-at-arms took to wearing armour, the approaching generals or king would ride forward and, holding the reins of the horse with the left hand, they would raise the visor with the right to identify each other.When a knight or a king wanted to raise an army he would ride around his people to enlist men-at-arms. Only free men were allowed to bear arms and they would show their availability by looking their king or knight in the eyes (a serf, or slave, had to bow his head and eyes toward the ground). Today the custom is carried-out as the 'Eyes Right' on the ceremonial march past and when a marching body of troops pass by an officer. The protocol of paying compliments to armed bodies of troops (Armed Corps or Armed Party) also goes back hundreds of years. If a lone soldier didn't stand-fast for passing body of armed troops and declare his allegiance, the party would assume him to be hostile and treat him accordingly. The sword salute was reminiscent of the Crusader days when the knight kissed the hilt of the sword before entering conflict. The hilt represented the cross and the motions of the salute roughly described the cross. Today some of the motions of the salute have been omitted; the 'Recover' is, however, still symbolic of kissing a cross. Whilst drills change with each new rifle, the rifle salute of today is based on a drill where the salute was the first motion of present arms. A sentry's salute to an officer of, or above field rand (major) was, and still is, a full salute with the weapon, the 'present arms'. Junior officers received the preliminary movement only, hence the 'rifle', or 'butt' salute. Christopher Jobson |
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For the Fallen ... | |
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With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children, England mourns for her dead across the sea. Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of spirit, Fallen in the cause of the free. Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal Sings 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 uncountered,  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 laughing comrades again; They sit no more at familiar tables of home; They have no lot in our labour of the day-time; They sleep beyond England's foam. But where our desires are and our hopes profound, Felt as a well-spring that is hidden form sight, To the innermost heart of their own land they are known As the stars 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. Laurence Binyon (1869-1943) |
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Soul of Australia ... | |
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In the light of dawn, the break of day, Through the waters chill they fought their way; Like their sires of old, to the Motherland They came o'er the sea, and they sprang to the strand; And the blood of the Angels, the Scot, and Celt Grew hot in their veins as the war fire they felt. In the light of the noon, in the bright sunlight, They fought up the cliffs from height to height; And sun shone down on that scene of strife Where the 'Souls of Australia' came to life, As the blood of Australians was shed on the sod, For Australia, for Britain, Humanity, God. Shall Australia mourn for the sons she has lost - Should Australians weep? Nay! Great though the cost, Joy mingles with grief, and pride mingles with pain, For our boys died like heroes, and died not in vain. And the 'Souls of Australia', new born on that day When her sons died at ANZAC, shall never decay. J.H.M. The Brisbane Couriers, 25 April 1916 |
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Flags at Half Mast ... | |
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The tradition of lowering flags to half mast as a sign of remembrance is believed to  have its origins on the high seas. As a sign of respect or honour for important persons, sailing ships would lower their sails, thus slowing the vessel and allowing for the VIP's own vessel to come alongside and for him to board if so desired. Lowering of sails was also used to honour VIPs who were reviewing a naval procession from the land. In time only the ship's flags were lowered in a symbolic gesture. This practice was also adopted on land. For information about Australian national flag protocol, please visit It's an honour, a web site managed and maintained by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. |
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Anzac Day ... | |
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I saw a boy marching, with medals on his chest, He marched alongside Diggers, marching six abreast, He knew it was Anzac Day, he marched along with pride, And did his best to keep in step, with the Diggers by his side, And when the march was over, the boy looked rather tired, A Digger asked, "Whose medals Son?" to which the boy replied, "They belong to my Dad, but he didn't come back, "He died in New Guinea, up on the Kokoda Track. The boy looked rather sad - a tear came to his eye, But the Digger said, "Don't worry Son - I'll tell you why. "Your old Man marched with us today, all the bloomin' way, "All us Diggers knew he was here, it's like that on Anzac Day. The boy looked rather puzzled, he didn't understand. But the Digger went on talking and started to wave his hand. "For this great land we live in, there's a price we have to pay, "To keep Australia free, and fly our flag today, "Yes we all love fun and merriment, in this country where we live, "But the price was that some soldier, his precious life must give, "For you to go to school my Son, and worship God at will, "Somebody had to pay the price, so our Diggers paid the bill. "Your old Man died for us my Son, for all things good and true, "I hope you can understand, these words I've said to you. The boy looked up at the Digger, and after a little while, His face changed expression, and he said, with a beautiful smile, "I know my Dad marched here today, this our Anzac Day. "I know he did. I know he did. "All the bloomin' way!" |
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The March is Over ... | |
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But the march is over, And the service has begun; The man of God sends up a prayer For every fallen son. They sing Onward Christian Soldiers, And Nearer My God to Thee; And we realise the sacrifice They made for you and me. |
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Sources . . . | |
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ANZAC Day - Traditions, Facts and Folklore published by the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee of Queensland Australian War Memorial |
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A sign that only few will ever see ... | |
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