Digger’s sons return Anzac tickets as fine print turns Gallipoli trip into ‘nightmare’

THE elderly sons of a stretcher bearer who saved countless lives at Anzac Cove have been forced to return their hard-won tickets to the Gallipoli Dawn Service.

GALLIPOLI

TWO sons of a Gallipoli war hero are so angry at the conditions imposed on their hard-won tickets for the official Anzac Cove Dawn Service in Turkey they have returned them to the government.

Despite plans to walk in their father’s footsteps on the 100th anniversary of the campaign on April 25, the elderly brothers will now stay home and commemorate at their local clubs.

Anzac and stretcher-bearer Bernard Morris landed at Gallipoli with the 3rd Battalion on the first day of the bloody campaign in 1915.

Part of the second wave that landed at Anzac Cove on April 25, Bernard Morris leapt into chest-deep, freezing water to rescue his first patient before he’d even landed on the beach.

Bernard Morris's war medals. The average lifespan of a Gallipoli stretcher bearer was 14 days. Bernard lasted 14 weeks.

His sons, Lester, 82, and Andy, 77, entered the hotly contested ballot after being told they would not be part of any official party.

They both won tickets, but when they read the warnings from the government and the fine print they felt the event would be a nightmare.

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“We’ve decided to return the tickets after the government told us to expect to watch it on a giant TV screen out the back because they have no allocated seating,” Andy Morris of Fairfield West said.

“So we would be mingling with 10,000 other people, and standing for up to 30 hours while the 500 VIPs watch it all.

Bernard Morris was among the soldiers who landed at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, April 25, 1915. By the end of that first day, he was ‘far beyond exhaustion,’ having rescued an enormous number of seriously wounded me.

“I was disgusted when I read what they sent to me. I threw out the letters. They said seating was not available for everyone and it was on a first-in best-dressed basis — so how do we fight the other 10,000 in the rush to get a seat?

“Like the Turkish commander who said the Aussies were lions led by donkeys — well, the donkey’s descendants are still running the show.”

The sons said they were dismayed that direct descendants had not been included in the official VIP party, which included dignitaries from 12 nations.

Lester Morris with a photo of his father Bernard. Lester and his brother Andy had hoped to honour their father at the Gallipoli Dawn Service but have been forced to return their tickets. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Just before the Anzacs stormed Lone Pine, a shrapnel pellet the size of a 10-cent piece Bernard Morris in his shoulder blade. It was never removed and would eventually lead to his death.

“It will be a nightmare the way it has been arranged. The 500 VIPs have got seating, but we have been warned to expect we might have to stand for hours and hours. Up to 30 hours!” Andy said.

“Why did they have to invite so many other officials from other countries? They aren’t direct descendants.”

Bernard Morris

Bernard, was a frontline stretcher bearer in the Australian Army after signing up in Little Bay at age 21. He was part of the second wave that landed on Anzac Cove on April 25, 1915.

As a front line stretcher bearer, Bernard’s job – considered one of the most dangerous at Gallipoli – was to crawl unarmed to carry wounded men back to camp. The average life expectancy of a frontline stretcher bearer on Gallipoli was said to be 14 days, but Bernard survived for 14 weeks.

Just before the Anzacs stormed Lone Pine, a shrapnel pellet the size of a 10-cent piece hit him, boring a hole through his shoulder blade and coming to rest near his spinal cord, from where it could never be removed.

It resulted in his death in 1957, when it moved and ruptured his aorta..

They have also been deterred by the government’s warning of segregation of men and women at entry check points because of the “cultural sensitivities” of Turkey.

“This is ridiculous,” Andy said. “In the dark, with 10,000 people queuing, how on earth are you supposed to find your wife if her queue progresses at a different rate elsewhere?”

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Another issue was the strict controls which will see visitors locked in the precinct until “mid to late afternoon” on April 25, after queuing to enter in the early hours of the night before.

“We think they don’t want us older people shuffling around — it seems we are just too much trouble,” said Lester Morris president of the Cumberland Sub-Branch of the NSW National Servicemen’s Association.

Andy Morris holding a photograph of his father Bernard George Morris. He has turned down tickets to the official ceremony in Turkey because he feels the officials have made the conditions impossible.

A Department of Veteran Affairs spokeswoman said everyone who applied for tickets to the Gallipoli centenary was made aware of the limitations of the site.

“At the time of applying in the ballot, all applicants were required to acknowledge the limited infrastructure at the site, and acknowledge their fitness to attend the commemorations,” the spokeswoman said. Limited assisted mobility support was available for those who applied, she said.

There are 379 direct descendants of Gallipoli veterans attending and of those 328 are sons or daughters of Gallipoli veterans.

“The Morris brothers would have had reserved seating at the commemorations as they are descendants,” the department spokeswoman said.

But the Morris brothers dispute this, saying at no stage in their correspondence with Veteran Affairs Minister Michael Ronaldson were they aware of any special seating. And as they can walk unaided, they did not qualify for the assisted mobility support.

When the brothers, who have both served in the armed forces, asked Minister Ronaldson to consider including direct descendants in the official party, the Senator replied the government did not want to differentiate between descendants whose fathers landed on April 25 and those who fought later.

“It is not appropriate to give greater importance to the service and sacrifice of any one group of service personnel over another,” Senator Ronaldson told them.

But Andy said, “That’s the bloody point of the day, Anzac Day is the 25th of April”.

Seating is available on a first-come first-served basis, making the trek to Dawn Service at Anzac Commemorative Site in Gallipoli prohibitive for the Australians over 75 attending. Picture: AP

The government will provide unreserved temporary seating for 5000 people but about half of the visitors will be required to sit on the grass or stand. Giant TV screens will be provided because of restricted views.

Lester Morris said: “I thought if you’re going to watch it on TV, you can do that at home.”

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The official information also warned of hypothermia, extreme conditions, sunburn, difficult terrain, crowding with minibuses and said no shelter would be available for periods of up to 30 hours. They would be expected to walk 10km in total.

Visitors have also been told they cannot bring open water bottles into the area because open containers are banned.

“So what if you want a sip of water while you’re waiting in the queue?” Andy asked.

Everyone who applied for tickets to the Gallipoli centenary were made aware of the limitations of the site, a spokeswoman for the Department of Veteran Affairs said. “At the time of applying in the ballot, all applicants were required to acknowledge the limited infrastructure at the site, and acknowledge their fitness to attend the commemorations,” the spokeswoman said. Limited assisted mobility support was available for those who applied, she said.