The 98th anniversary of the amphibious landings at Gallipoli, which saw severe losses for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, is marked with commemoration services in Turkey, Australia, New Zealand and around the globe.
The Gallipoli campaign saw an Entente attempted invasion of the Ottoman Empire, now modern day Turkey, in 1915, repelled.
The campaign was the first major combat action of the newly established Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.
In Turkey, the defeat of the allied invasion force is often viewed as the “founding of the modern Turkish state”.
Services have been held to commemorate the 98th anniversary of the start of the Gallipoli campaign around the globe:
Gallipoli
A dawn service was held at Gallipoli, but was interrupted by a protester shouting that Australian police were trying to kill him. It is not clear what the protest was about.
The service was attended by Australia’s Minister for Veterans Affairs, Warren Snowdon, and the Chief of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, Air Vice-Marshal Peter Stockwell.
A crowd of 5,200 people attended the dawn service.
Remembrance services in 2015 for the Centenary will be balloted to Australian and New Zealand citizens.
Australia
Some 30,000 people attended a dawn service held in the Australian capital of Canberra.
Anzac Day parades were held in major cities, including Sydney and Melbourne.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard attended an Anzac Day service held in Townsville, Queensland, where she vowed to look after veterans of the war in Afghanistan and praised the interest of young people in Anzac Day.
New Zealand
An Anzac Day dawn service was held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, with the Cenotaph serving as a focal point for commemorations.
Thousands attended the National War Memorial in Wellington for the Anzac Day commemorative service; The Governor-General of New Zealand, Lieutenant General Sir Jerry Mateparae, Prime Minister John Key, and the Mayor of Wellington Mayor, Celia Wade-Brow, all attended the service.
A dawn service was held in Christchurch, with wreaths being laid at a temporary Cenotaph.
The service at Christchurch was nearly disrupted, when a thief stole some of the army band’s instruments. They were later recovered.
Anzac Day services have also been held in Belgium, France, Papau New Guinea, Thailand and the United Kingdom.
Posted by: Daniel Barry, Centenary News