Anzac Day
25th April 1915
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders 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 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.
History
Anzac Day is a day commemorating all New Zealanders and Australians killed in war. It also honours returned servicemen and women.
The date 25th April was chosen because it is the date that New Zealand and Australian soldiers (the Anzacs) landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. Their mission was to capture the Dardanelles, which was the gateway to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. Although there was no military victory, the soldiers displayed great courage, endurance, initiative, discipline, and mateship. Such qualities came to be seen as the ANZAC spirit.
The death toll was huge - almost one in four of those who served in Gallipoli.
- 87,000 Turks
- 44,000 French, British, Australians and New Zealanders.
Out of those 44,000, 8500 were Australians and 2721 were New Zealanders.
The story of the Anzac's landing in Gallipoli has become a legend. Since then it has been developed, expanded, embellished, confirmed and sometimes challenged but it still remains central to New Zealand's self-image as a nation.
The first Anzac Day was remembered in 1916. London crowds watched 2000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers march to Westminster Abbey.
Traditions
For New Zealanders, Anzac Day ceremonies remain rich in tradition and ritual befitting a military funeral.
The Legend of Anzac is not forgotten, 99 years on. Even though there are no longer any living survivors of the campaign, people still remember their sacrifice and courage. Parades, services and rituals continue every year on the 25th April. Large crowds now go to Gallipoli each year to remember and add their voice to the potent line, "Lest we forget".
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