Lest we Forget

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The Ode..!
The Ode comes from For the Fallen, a poem by the English poet and writer Laurence Binyon and was published in London in the Winnowing Fan; Poems of the Great War in 1914. The verse, which became the League Ode, was already used in association with commemoration services in Australia in 1921.


"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."

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Hubby and I have visited Gallipoli (and quite a few other war cemeteries) and our Turkish guide was well tuned in to Australian sympathies. He talked to us about the campaign from the Turkish side and I felt distressed that we had ever invaded his homeland, especially when I learnt how many Turkish boys died defending it. After the war a number of schools closed for lack of boys.

As we drove away from Lone Pine, where we laid a wreath and recited The Ode, he played a cassette of Eric Bogle's iconic anti war song and I was overcome with a sense of the futility of it all, and of the waste of young lives. And for what ? At least the Turks were fighting for their homeland. What were we there for?

"And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda"
- Eric Bogle

Now when I was a young man, I carried me pack, and I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback, well, I waltzed my Matilda all over.
Then in 1915, my country said son, It's time you stopped rambling, there's work to be done.
So they gave me a tin hat, and they gave me a gun, and they marched me away to the war.

And the band played Waltzing Matilda, as the ship pulled away from the quay
And amidst all the cheers, the flag-waving and tears, we sailed off for Gallipoli
And how well I remember that terrible day, how our blood stained the sand and the water
And of how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay, we were butchered like lambs at the slaughter.
Johnny Turk he was waiting, he'd primed himself well. He shower'd us with bullets,
And he rained us with shell. And in five minutes flat, he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia.

But the band played Waltzing Matilda, when we stopped to bury our slain.
We buried ours, and the Turks buried theirs, then we started all over again.
And those that were left, well we tried to survive, in that mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks, I kept myself alive, though around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head, and when I woke up in my hospital bed,
And saw what it had done, well I wished I was dead. Never knew there was worse things than dyin'.

For I'll go no more waltzing Matilda, all around the green bush far and free
To hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs-no more waltzing Matilda for me.
So they gathered the crippled, the wounded, the maimed, and they shipped us back home to Australia.
The legless, the armless, the blind, the insane, those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay, I looked at the place where me legs used to be.
And thanked Christ there was nobody waiting for me, to grieve, to mourn, and to pity.

But the band played Waltzing Matilda, as they carried us down the gangway.
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared, then they turned all their faces away
And so now every April, I sit on me porch, and I watch the parades pass before me.
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march, reviving old dreams of past glories
And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore. They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, what are they marching for? And I ask myself the same question.

But the band plays Waltzing Matilda, and the old men still answer the call,
But as year follows year, more old men disappear. Someday no one will march there at all.
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by that billabong, who'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me?
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Ina said:
Warri, It is wonder that humans still roam this world. It seems every generation has it's war. Too bad a better way doesn't come about. So many deaths.
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So many deaths indeed, Ina. On this day as well as remembering the fallen, speeches have implored us to remember the wounded also, including those wounded in spirit and mind.

Next year will the centenary of the original ANZAC landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. The whole campaign was a failure, and a very costly one at that. What we commemorate is the lives sacrificed and we celebrate the courage and spirit of the men who were for the first time in our history fighting as Australians (Australia as a nation only came into being in 1901 when the six states officially federated). The legend of the ANZACs has been passed from generation to generation ever since. Significantly it is not about victory. It is not triumphant.

The men who returned from WWI wanted to build a "land fit for heroes" which meant a land of "fair go" where widows and orphans would be cared for and where the working man was treated fairly and respected. War can have some positives as well as negatives once the guns fall silent. We need to listen to the veterans because they have insights that the rest of us have not been privy to.

The thing that I find missing in all ANZAC services is the sentiment in the well known passage from Isaiah that graces the UN building in New York. I think it is a vision of peace that needs to be restated just as frequently as "lest we forget". It is more of a "may we learn" moment.

He will judge between the nations, and will render verdicts for the benefit of many. "They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nations will not raise swords against nations, and they will not learn warfare anymore.
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Interesting reading. One of my son's in laws recently became the US Ambassador to Australia so I have been very interested in learning more about this country. He told us when he woke up on his first morning there he was surprised at how different the birds sounded.
 
Just watching The March in Sydney this morning on TV.
They march proudly but even the current serving units have a very laconic, relaxed style.
As far as I can tell it is a style unique to Aussies. In step and in unison but nothing fancy.
 
What a great thread ! This is my first time of hearing much about your war Memorial Day over there in Australia. And iit has existed since way back to the First World War. My grandfather was in that war, but he never talked much about it, so all that I ever knew was that he had been a soldier.
I think it is awesome that the whole country of Australia recognizes this memorial time. Here, we have Memorial Day, which was originally probably the same as yours, from the first war soldiers that were lost. I remember going every year to the cemetary with bouquets of flowers to put on the graves. Even though Memorial Day started out for remembering the soldiers, it became a Memorial Day when most people put flowers on all the graves of family members who had passed away.
Now, it seems, many people don't even bother to do that. It is no longer just Memorial Day on May 30th, now it is a 4-day weekend holiday here , and the first real 4-day holiday of spring; so it has become more of the first celebration weekend of the year. Lots of parties, fast cars, and noise; people killed driving on the roads (many of them drunk); and no one really thinks about the gravity or meaning of the holiday here anymore.
There might be some kind of speech on the TV about soldiers who have given their life for their country, and pictures of the military cemetarys , but not much of the kind of meaningful remembrance as you have Warri.


HappyFlowerLady
 
Two points, HFL. ANZAC Day belongs to two countries - Australia and New Zealand.
ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and since 1915 the ties between our two countries, while seldom spoken about, are an unbreakable bond. While we are separate countries, with different histories and traditions, nevertheless we are in many ways one.

Also, as the years have gone by, the significance of ANZAC Day has grown rather than diminished.

In my father's day, returned servicemen would gather with others from their unit and march through the main streets of Sydney in significant numbers, then peel off (or not) to separate church services -catholics one way and protestants another - before meeting up again for a reunion in some pub or other. Beer was plentiful, the diggers seldom had to pay for their drinks and everyone gambled away their money playing a traditional game of two-up, which was legal only on this one day of the year. The day was for the diggers and for reunions. Families might go to town to line the streets and cheer on the old soldiers.

As the men grew older and some died, members of the family began to march in their place, wearing the medals of their loved ones. For a while, the celebrations looked like they might fade away as the men passed on. From about 1988 onwards, after the bicentenary, people began to take more interest in family and national history and ANZAC Day began to grow in significance and it has captured the imagination of many young Australians. Each year thousands of young Aussies make the pilgrimage to Turkey to visit the Gallipoli battlefield. The Turks are very hospitable to young Aussies and Kiwis although they are rather perplexed about why they bother. ANZAC Day at Gallipoli is an important event and next year there has been a ballot to see who can go. The site will not accommodate all those who want to attend.

Also in recent times services have been held at other overseas battle fields of historic importance - Villers-Bretonneux in France and Kokoda in Papua New Guinea. All of them are broadcast on National TV. I'm watching the Gallipoli one now. They are very well done and a privilege to attend.

The Great War hit every town in Australia very hard. All the men and women we sent overseas were volunteers and the losses were heavy. Every county town has its monument in the town centre and there is a local ceremony there every year on April 25. It is a national public holiday.

This is a typical monument - a soldier with his gun reversed, contemplating those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Around the base are the names of the fallen from that town or district.
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It was great to see William & Kate unexpectedley turn up to the dawn service.
Anzac Day is one day when the whole country comes together.
It's important to keep the history alive of all those who sacrificed their life and of those who were maimed.
R.I.P.
 


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