Issue 47 Aurora Magazine April 2022

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eflect THE FIRST ANZAC DAY ‘It caused thrills of pride and regret that our fallen comrades were not with us’ STORY ANNE SKINNER The long column of soldiers marched through London to the beat of stirring band music, crossing Waterloo Bridge four abreast as huge crowds cheered them on. These were the Anzacs, the soldiers from Australia and New Zealand who had, exactly one year before, forged a legacy of courage and heroism that has lasted for more than a century. On that first Anzac Day commemoration in 1916, Londoners turned out in their tens of thousands to celebrate these soldiers from the lands Down Under. They lined the streets from Waterloo Station to Westminster Abbey, where the Anzacs were honoured at a service attended by Royalty as well as then-Prime Minister Herbert Asquith and top military leaders. One West Australian soldier wrote home describing the march: “The crowds cheered and cheered. Cigarettes and chocolates and other things were thrown at us, but not a man attempted to stop or even to look sideways – they were simply grand. As we passed into The Strand there was a big sign stretched right across, with the words in huge letters: ‘Western Australia welcomes you’. It caused our feelings to surge up, and the water was in our eyes. When one looked back, 12 months before that day, and thought of the dead heroes for whom this grand pageant was being held, it caused thrills of pride and regret that our fallen comrades were not with us to share in the reception given to us by the Motherland.” From every window and balcony along the parade’s path hung gaily-coloured bunting, and people cheered and waved flags as the soldiers marched past. The bearing of the Anzac soldiers so impressed the journalist of one leading London newspaper that he wrote: “Here among us in the searching sunlight were men who had come out of something greater than victory… They were tall, lean and fine-drawn to such a pitch that some of them looked more like spectres than men. Finer soldiers or men more resolute in their bearing have surely never been seen.” Meanwhile, across the English Channel, out in the trenches of the Western Front, soldiers paused for a moment – if they could – to remember their fallen mates. “We are not even where we can get a drink of beer,” wrote one soldier to his brother back home. “We will have to remember to drink to Anzac Day when we get the chance.” He finished on a note of optimism: “Anyway, we may be home in time next year if Fritzy gets tired of being knocked back all the time.” At Etaples, the major Australian military base on the coast of France, the Anzac Day service was a stately occasion attended by at least 5000 soldiers, dignitaries and townspeople, as well as nurses and patients from No. 26 General Hospital. “It was held in a large, green sloping field surrounded by hillocks which were dotted with hundreds of blue-coated patients from the hospitals, khaki-clad and grey and red sisters,” the hospital’s Staff Nurse Nellie Saw wrote to her parents in Albany. “It looked grand in the bright sunlight.” The first anniversary of the 1915 landing at Gallipoli was commemorated not only with parades and solemn services, but also by fancy dress fun and hard-fought sporting events wherever Anzac soldiers were to be found in France, Belgium, England and the Middle East. In Egypt, where units from Australia and New Zealand were stationed to protect the Suez Canal, the troops made a splash with a major water sports carnival. Thousands of soldiers lined the sand dunes to cheer on their favourite swimming teams as they freestyled across the canal. Swimmers dodged ships slowly navigating the waterway, while novelty racing boats – made from anything to hand – bobbed and sank, to much hilarity. “Some of them were constructed from oiled sheets or old tents stretched over a framework of wood,” wrote one soldier. “Others were built on rafts and one, a sort BELOW LEFT: Australian and New Zealand troops marching down Whitehall to Westminster Abbey in London on Anzac Day, 1916. (Courtesy Australian War Memorial P04497.004) BELOW RIGHT: Staff Nurse Nellie Saw of Albany. (Courtesy Ancestry.com.au) 20 LOVE LOCAL
eflect of burlesque battleship, was very good. These boats caused endless fun the whole afternoon. Some were seaworthy, but the crews of a couple were more often in the canal than in the boats.” Back home in Albany, Nellie Saw’s parents may have attended one of the packed morning church services, later finding a place among the crowds cheering the procession organised by the Returned Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Association. The parade was followed by afternoon sporting events, while a combined church service was held in the Albany Town Hall that evening. Before Anzac Day, Nellie and her fellow nurses had made sure every grave in the Etaples Military Cemetery was strewn with flowers. They all contributed their own money to buy the blooms and rose at 4.30am to walk to the little graveyard amid the sand dunes. In 1916, <strong>April</strong> 25 fell on Easter Monday. Hoping the flowers would still be fresh for the first Anzac Day ceremony, the sisters at No. 26 General Hospital placed their flowers early on the morning of Easter Sunday to create a special double tribute to “their boys”. Nellie wrote sadly to her parents: “It looked very pathetic. Every grave was strewn with flowers over the mounds with their little wooden crosses at the heads. It is only a small place, out among the sand dunes between the road and the river.” It may have been “only a small place” in 1916, but by war’s end, Etaples Military Cemetery had more than 11,000 graves. Figures vary for the total number of combatants who were killed or died of wounds on both sides during the First World War, but it has been estimated at more than eight and a half million lives. Lest We Forget. Sources: Australian War Memorial, National Archives of Australia, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, West Australian newspaper, Encyclopaedia Britannica, trove.nla. gov.au, ancestry.com.au. BELOW: Nurses at No 26 General Hospital in Etaples, France, laid flowers on the graves of the Australian Military Cemetery for Anzac Day 1916. (Courtesy Australian War Memorial P12503.002) ABOVE RIGHT: Australian troops line the banks of the Suez Canal to enjoy the Anzac Day sports events. (Courtesy Australian War Memorial P11419.001) Advising the Great Southern Albany Harbourside since 2012 Advising the Great Southern since 2012 Advising the We know Great and understand Southern the since rural sector 2012 We know and understand the rural sector • Succession Planning; Advising • General Property the We Law know Great and understand Southern the • since rural sector 2012 We know and understand the rural sector Apartments and Houses Offers a range of fully self-contained accommodation options, ideally located in the town centre and Middleton Beach. Soak up the history and spectacular scenery of the amazing South Coast. Excellent facilities, great locations. 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Page 1 and 2: FREE Aurora Issue 47 GREAT SOUTHERN
Page 3 and 4: contents 4 FOCUS HENRY EDMONDSON Th
Page 5 and 6: focus Henry gets plenty of air prac
Page 7 and 8: focus laughs when she recounts thei
Page 9 and 10: safekeep commute. When the days wer
Page 11 and 12: Matt Sivyer and Sue Howard in the D
Page 13 and 14: engage WELCOME TO Playing in a comm
Page 15 and 16: enchant the Denmark River in a rain
Page 17 and 18: vogue Browse or shop local online a
Page 19: vogue New Season Winter Boots fishi
Page 23 and 24: taste great southern ALBANY FARMERS
Page 25 and 26: taste great southern The region is
Page 27 and 28: taste great southern customs includ
Page 29 and 30: what’s on CINEFESTOZ ALBANY Celeb
Page 31 and 32: ALBANY I WESTERN AUSTRALIA 4 FOUR H
Page 33 and 34: 12-13 April 2022 10am-5pm Albany To
Page 35 and 36: gig guide Everything we put in the

Issue 47 Aurora Magazine April 2022

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