A.N.Z.A.C. Day Is
One Marked with Memories
Welcome to Denyse Whelan’s Substack.
I am glad you are here.
I usually post once a week on Mondays but for this post, I am making
an exception because, I feel both compelled and honoured to do so.
This was going to be a note…and then as I kept adding to it, it’s become what I refer to as a post.
A.N.Z.A.C. Day is…
It’s A.N.Z.A.C. Day on 25 April … a day of remembrance and appreciation…
Held, initially, to commemorate the landings at Gallipoli in 1915, which sadly saw many lives lost.
Australian
New
Zealand
Army
Corps
I’m sure there will be more posts & notes & photos shared here too.
My view is it’s a day of both gratitude and sorrow.
I would not be “me” as my paternal grandparents met because of WW 1.
He was an enlisted soldier (originally from Cowdenbeath in Scotland but migrated with his family) to Wollongong Australia in his youth.
He saw action as an Ambulance Driver in France and was affected by mustard gas so was sent, as many were, to a military hospital at Sutton Veny in UK. My grandmother was a local woman who played the piano and along with others helped with morale…
They became engaged by the end of the war. He was repatriated and she sailed to Australia on boat filled with war brides and babies!
They were wed in Wollongong (my place of birth too) & went on to have 4 children. My dad was eldest son & 2nd child. The depression that saw many families poor affected them & Dad’s father who worked where & when he could was injured in a workplace accident.. and later would be part of another one, sadly causing loss of life because of its severity. Dad was 11.
Life changed, as it does for many, as a result of poverty and discrimination as my paternal grandmother was shunned by her late husband’s parents … and her widowed mother emigrated from UK to support her daughter & family with a house.
My photos tell a little of my story.
Me at a memorial for ANZAC Day- Central Coast NSW 2015-16
My paternal grandparents
Their young family.
My painting of a poppy with the poem “In Flanders Fields”. My late dad loved this & had it in his unit to look at.
My attendance at dawn at local beach on the Central coast 2021 on ANZAC Day.
And in the centre of Sydney, where I live, this place will be packed out for the Dawn Service which will commence around the time my post will be live.
I finish with the words…
And at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them…
Lest
We
Forget
Sending love and warmest wishes to you all.
Denyse x
Thanks for sharing, Denyse. It really is a fascinating story.
Well done Denyse. What a fascinating story.