Today is Anzac Day - 25th April, 2014

[mooke07]

Tributes were paid to all troops who served at Gallipoli and other theatres of war from our Prime Minister Tony Abbott down. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were in attendance at the National Memorial service in Canberra. They planted a sapling of the Lone Pine thrown from the original Lone Pine in the grounds of the Australian War Memorial that was grown from a pine cone from Lone Pine on Gallipoli.

It is always a moving tribute to see the Australian and New Zealand wreaths laid at the same time such is the bond. The Turkish tribute follows as is that bond too.

My wives grandfather served on the Gallipoli peninsula with the British army at Suvla Bay and then on to Salonika with the ASC and Welsh Regiment.

Having been born in England but growing up here it is always nice to honour my British army forebears and remember the sacrifice of Australian and New Zealand troops and those that gave their lives across the world in the tragedy of war.

Today there were 1500 in attendance in Hellfire Pass to commemorate those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in captivity. I remember my uncle Gordon.

Lest We Forget. Dean.

[rhodesianmilitaria]

Originally Posted by REMEVMBEA1

I echo those sentiments its just that I'm saddened by the fact that so few people seem to be aware that there were 12 line and 9 RND British battalions involved.

People who know history know that and also are aware of the sacrifice of French and Indian troops as well, all who suffered massively on the Peninsular.
There were two differences.
Firstly this was the first major battle that Australian troops had fought in since the colonies became the country of Australia on the 1 January 1901.
Secondly it was the first time that Australia allied with New Zealand (hence ANZAC) in war which continues to this day — East Timor and Afghanistan being two of the latest.
Although a military defeat in so many ways it was the formation of an enduring partnership and an expression of a new country of what we were capable of when helping who we perceived as friends and against tyranny.
I think there are many battles which we as a relatively new country can be enormously proud of having done our best in and two of those include Villers-Bretonneux and Kokoda. However Gallipoli will always be the first and so rightly holds pride of place when honouring all who served, fought and died in the service of our country. Lest We Forget.

Australian troops charging the Turks.

lossy-page1-1012px-Scene_just_before_the_evacuation_at_Anzac._Australian_troops_charging_near_a_.jpg

[ebro]

Lest we forget!

Eddie

[scotch]

Lest We Forget

[Chacal]

We will remember them.

Graham

[BWEF]

Mostly too late for this year, but bookmark it for next. Here is a list of ANZAC services that were held today in the UK and in Ireland:

http://www.nzembassy.com/united-king...-outside-of-lo

I think the most well known of these services is the one held at Harefield Hospital. During WW1 Harefield was the site of No. 1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital, the only purely Australian hospital in England:

http://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/harefieldpark.html

There are 111 soldiers and one nursing sister buried at Harefield..

[Mike Jackson]

Originally Posted by slick_mick

Any relation to Samuel Hedley Hawkins of the 15th Battalion?

He was a neighbour when I was growing up in Brisbane.

Mick

Mick, I don't believe so - he certainly was not one of Frank's two brothers - one disappeared without trace soon after landing in Australia and the other remained in Australia, farming in NSW. Mike

[slick_mick]

Originally Posted by Mike Jackson

Mick, I don't believe so - he certainly was not one of Frank's two brothers - one disappeared without trace soon after landing in Australia and the other remained in Australia, farming in NSW. Mike

Thanks Mike.

I also wrote small article about him for the Regimental Books newsletter several years ago.

See below.

Mick

This article is quite an interesting, yet at times sad tale of a Queenslander, who was my next door neighbour (albeit quite a few years ago now).

Samuel Hedley Hawkins, like many other 18 year olds of his generation responded to Australia’s call for soldiers to join up for King and Country and enlisted on 18th September, 1914, mere weeks after the declaration of war. He was allocated to the newly raised 15th Battalion and after his initial training became Private Samuel Hawkins – 292.

Hedley (a name shared with his father, and later a son and the one by which I knew him) worked as a factory hand and lived in the northern suburbs of Brisbane at Eagle Junction. He was familiar with the basics of military service having served in senior cadets whilst at school, a compulsory exercise for boys in the years leading up to war.

The 15th Battalion AIF was raised from late September 1914, six weeks after the outbreak of the First World War. Three-quarters of the battalion were recruited as volunteers from Queensland, and the rest from Tasmania. With the 13th, 14th and 16th Battalions it formed the 4th Brigade, commanded by Colonel John Monash. The Queensland and Tasmanian recruits were united when the battalion trained together in Victoria. They embarked for overseas just before Christmas. After a brief stop in Albany, Western Australia, the battalion proceeded to Egypt, arriving in early February 1915.

Hedley landed at Gallipoli (as a Signaller) with the rest of his battalion late in the afternoon on the 25th April, 1915. From May to August, the battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC beachhead. In August, the 4th Brigade attacked Hill 971. The hill was taken at great cost although Turkish reinforcements forced the Australians to withdraw. Private Hawkins survived these battles with no major wounds or injuries.

However, in September, 1915, Hedley Hawkins, like many of his mates came down with dysentery due to the lack of sanitation and unhygienic conditions of the trenches at Gallipoli. He tried to stay with the battalion and it wasn’t until November when he was evacuated to a field hospital on the Greek Island of Lemnos. Whilst in hospital, his condition deteriorated to the point where he was sent back to Australia (due to Neurasthenia (shell shock caused in his case by a shell exploding close to him) and Enteric fever) and arrived back in Melbourne in February after a one month sea voyage on HM Transport “Commonwealth”. He was medically discharged in May 1916.

Hedley recovered from his illness and promptly re-enlisted at Enoggera Rifle Range (later to become Barracks) on the 9th October, 1916 into the Australian Army Pay Corps as a Corporal and was allocated the number 45. He was eventually promoted to the rank of Sergeant and after several months service was discharged again on 29th June, 1917. Aspects of his services with the Australian Army Pay Corps is missing and it is unknown if he served on the Western Front during this time. Having left the AAPC at his own request, he straight away joined the 4th Pioneer Battalion (service number 4076), this time as Hedley Hawkins (rather than as Samuel Hawkins).

He embarked with other soldiers sailing for England on the 1st August, 1917 on the A7 – HMAT Medic, and arrived there in early October. The next few months were spent at the School of Instruction at Sutton Veny in England. In May 1918, he was promoted to Corporal and joined the 4th Pioneer Battalion in France. However, in late April 1918, he decided to take some time off and was subsequently charged for being Absent without Leave (AWOL) with a forfeiture of five days pay. The battalion at this time was doing construction work (building defences) near the village of Villiers Bretonneaux in France.

Hedley’s service with the battalion in France is not recorded in any detail and he would have been involved with the battalion’s activities which would have seen it support the 4th Division as it pushed the Germans back after their March 1918 offensive stalled. They would have been involved in the Battles of Hamel, Amiens and the Hindenburg Line.

Hedley returned to Australia in early 1919, departing France in February 1919 and getting an early ship home due to his previous service. He arrived home in March 1919 and was soon married with a son (also called Hedley) born in 1921 in Brisbane. Another son (Warren) was born a couple of years later with the family residing in Pole St, Northgate.

War with Germany occurred again in 1939, and this time it was young Hedley who answered the call for volunteers. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and was eventually seconded to 101 Squadron, Royal Air Force (RAF) as a Sergeant pilot on Wellington bombers. Tragedy struck the Hawkins family in September 1942, when young Hedley’s bomber was shot down over the North Sea with the loss of all crew. 101 Squadron finished the war with one of the highest casualty counts amongst all squadrons. He was posted as missing in action presumed dead. He was only 21 years old.

His brother ended up going to England after the war to search for him and ended up becoming a doctor and living in England.

Hedley and his wife continued to live at Northgate (where we knew them as neighbours) until the late 1970s when Mrs Hawkins died. By this time, Hedley was in a wheelchair with his legs amputated. A lovely old man, Hedley passed away around 1980. To this day, I treasure the 1920 “Aussie” magazine compilation that he gave me.

To this day, I continue to remember and honour him.

[Lancer 17]

G'day all.

I attended the Upwey-Belgrave RSL being there from 5.15 am till 7 pm. About 2000 locals attended both the dawn service and also the march and service at 10 am. They too "Remembered".

Our museum was open from 10.45 till 4.30 and we had about 500 to 600 visitors during the day. We also had a fly over by The Roulettes at 11 am.

Also very proud to report that my 29 year old daughter posted The Ode on her face book page. She also attended Gallopoli on ANZAC day 2011.

Im pleased to say that many in this part of the world did Remember Them!

Regards

Phil.