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On 25 April 1915, the ANZACS landed under fire on the beaches of the Gallipoli Peninsula, for what proved to be a long and disastrous campaign. The campaign involved British and French troops, as well as divisions of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). Lack of sufficient intelligence and knowledge of the terrain, along with a fierce Turkish resistance, hampered the success of the invasion. By mid-October, Allied forces had suffered heavy casualties and had made little headway from their initial landing sites. Evacuation began in December 1915, and was completed early the following January. In all, some 480,000 Allied forces took part in the Gallipoli Campaign, at a cost of more than 250,000 casualties, including some 46,000 dead. On the Turkish side, the campaign also cost an estimated 250,000 casualties, with 65,000 killed. On Thursday 25 April, 104 years after the event, a much larger than usual crowd gathered at the cenotaph in Berwick, to commemorate ANZAC Day and honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice. The very moving service included a fly over by two aircraft from the Roulettes and culminated in a playing of the Last Post. This was followed by three volleys of rifle fire from the Lighthorse re-enactment group. The noise created by the rifle fire provided the crowd with some idea of what the troops must have endured constantly, throughout the campaign. Five Club members assisted the Rotary Club of Narre Warren on their barbecue at the Dawn Service at Bunjil Place, together with a group of enthusiastic Rotaractors. A large number of wreaths from different organisations were placed at the Berwick cenotaph. President Geoff laid a large wreath on behalf of the Rotary Club of Berwick. The wreath was produced by the Floristry Department at Box Hill Institute and we wish to express our thanks to the staff and students, for creating such a beautiful product. The Ode of Remembrance by Laurence Binyon "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. Lest we forget." |
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As mentioned in last week's bulletin, the District Conference will take place in Bendigo from 20 - 22 March 2020.
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