Thousands gather on Anzac Day to salute our heroes
UPDATE: BATHED in autumn sun, thousands of veterans and descendants took part in the Dawn Service and Anzac Day march.
ANZAC Centenary
Don't miss out on the headlines from ANZAC Centenary. Followed categories will be added to My News.
BATHED in autumn sunshine, an estimated 11,000 veterans and descendants took part in today’s Anzac Day March.
Thousands more families and wellwishers lined St Kilda Rd as bands played and veterans paraded proudly behind regimental banners to the Shrine of Remembrance.
The march was temporarily halted just after 10am when a veteran collapsed near the Arts Centre.
MICA ambulance staff were on the scene within seconds and conducted CPR on the elderly man, who was taken to the Alfred Hospital in a critical condition.
An Alfred spokeswoman said the man’s condition remained unchanged.
Shrine foundation chief executive Denis Baguley said 60,000 people attended the Dawn Service, a record in modern years.
“There are two major factors (in the attendance), one is the centenary of Anzac, that’s in front of mind, and secondly what has been achieved in the last 10-15 years in terms of the internet where young people can connect with their family history,” Mr Baguley said.
ANZAC TO AFGHANISTAN: DIGGER TRIBUTES AND DIARIES
MELBOURNE ANZAC DAY MARCH AND REUNIONS
GALLIPOLI SERVICE
More than 12,000km away at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, thousands of Aussies and war veterans are reflecting on the 26,111 Diggers who became casualties in the ill-fated 1915 campaign, including the 8141 who were killed.
Turkey has also embraced the commemoration ceremonies.
On Thursday it was Children’s Day there, an event tied to World War I and created by Gallipoli hero Mustafa Kemel Ataturk.
“We don’t see the Australians all coming here as something strange at all, we embrace it,” family spokesman Batu said.
“With Australia and Gallipoli I think you can say we fought them with respect, we never hated each other.
That sentiment was echoed by Veterans Affairs Minister Michael Ronaldson who was touring Gallipoli ahead of Friday’s services.
“We share a remarkable history, two nations at war 100 years ago and now we are very, very close allies and I think we view this as a lesson to the rest of the world,” he said.
HONOUR FOR STAR PIE AND WAR HERO
A FORMER Collingwood star and war hero will be honoured in the lead-up to the Anzac Day blockbuster at the MCG.
Military Cross winner Jack Pimm played 58 games and kicked 113 goals in a career he cut short to fight for his country in Papua New Guinea and Bougainville in the 15th Brigade 58/59th Battalion.
He was awarded the military cross “for inspired and gallant service” in Bougainville in 1945 and returned to play for the Pies after WWII despite shrapnel wounds, stomach ulcers and a bout of malaria.
Now 93, Pimm in unable to sit in the stands to watch his beloved Pies take on the Bombers in the Anzac Day blockbuster.
But he will today watch on TV while his daughter Julie and granddaughter Gabriella Rush toss the coin in his honour.
Ms Rush said the Collingwood life member was as proud as punch.
“He’s really excited and the whole family is so proud of him,’’ she said.
“Collingwood has been a big part of his life and he would love to be out there but I will wear his medals for him and it will be an amazing feeling to walk out on to the MCG for him.’’
A 1942 Australian penny will be used for the toss.
A motorcade of eight cars will drive around the MCG before the match with returned veterans, nurses and servicewomen who served in WWII, Korea Malaya/Borneo and Vietnam wars on board.
— Peter Rolfe
TWO GREAT SOLDIERS REMEMBERED
THE photos are grainy and the memories faded, but the legacy of Victoria’s most decorated soldiers remain as colourful as ever.
John Sykes will remember the sacrifices of two great men in particular: His father, World War II veteran Leonard Sykes, and his late wife’s grandfather, Victoria Cross winner and veteran of both world wars, Walter Peeler.
Mr Sykes, 79, of East Bentleigh, said he would reflect on the efforts of both men at the front — but also on the enormous impact war had on their lives once they returned to Australia.
His father rarely spoke of the war, he said.
Major Sykes served with the Australian Army Service Corps in the southwest Pacific from 1939-45.
“We were only young kids when he finally returned,” Mr Sykes said.
“But it had been so long we didn’t even know what to call him.’’
He said his father would press frangipanis in letters home to his wife and write separately to each of his three children.
“He was a funny man, often the noisiest of the lot. But he never once spoke of the war.’’
Major Sykes went on to become one of the longest-serving members of the Australian Defence Force, earning an MBE.
“Wally’’ Peeler survived the hellish campaigns of World War I and earned the Victoria Cross after “accounting’’ for more than 30 enemy soldiers during an attack on Broodseinde Ridge, Belgium.
He lied about his age to enlist for WWII and after serving in Syria was captured in Java in 1942 and spent 3½ years as a POW.
His service took a heavy toll on his personal life. He found new love, and left his wife and children.
“War was difficult but sometimes returning home was just as hard,” Mr Sykes said.
— Aaron Langmaid
What’s open on Anzac Day?
The public holiday has brought in changed trading times, with many businesses shutting up shop to honour the Anzacs.
How to use your free Virtual Candle
Australians will commemorate Anzac Day from home on Saturday. This is a step-by-step guide to using your free Virtual Candle and other content to Light Up The Dawn.