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Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who died and served in military operations for their countries. Anzac Day is also observed in the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tonga.
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History
Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. The acronym ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, whose soldiers were known as Anzacs. Anzac Day remains one of the most important national occasions of both Australia and New Zealand. This is a rare instance of two sovereign countries not only sharing the same remembrance day, but making reference to both countries in its name.
The Gallipoli campaign
When war broke out in 1914, Australia had been a Federal Commonwealth for only thirteen years. In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula, under a plan by Winston Churchill to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. The objective was to capture Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Em pire, an ally of Germany. The ANZAC force landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish Army commanded by Mustafa Kemal (later known as Atatürk). What had been planned as a bold strike to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stale-mate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian and 2,700 New Zealand soldiers died. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.
Though the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives of capturing Istanbul and knocking Ottoman Empire out of the war, the Australian and New Zealand troops' actions during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an "Anzac legend" became an important part of the national identity in both countries. This shaped the ways their citizens viewed both their past and their future.
The foundations of Anzac Day
On 30 April 1915, when the first news of the landing reached New Zealand, a half-day holiday was declared and impromptu services were held. The following year a public holiday was gazetted (i.e., officially declared) on 5 April and services to commemorate were organised by the returned servicemen.
The date, 25 April, was officially named Anzac Day in 1916; in that year it was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia and New Zealand, a march through London, and a sports day for the Australian and New Zealand soldiers in Egypt. The small New Zealand community of Tinui, near Masterton in the Wairarapa was apparently the first place in New Zealand to have an Anzac Day service, when the then vicar led an expedition to place a large wooden cross on the Tinui Taipos (a 1,200 ft (370 m) high large hill/mountain, behind the village) in April 1916 to commemorate the dead. A service was held on 25 April of that year. In 2006 the 90th anniversary of the event was commemorated with a full 21-gun salute fired at the service by soldiers from the Waiouru Army Camp.
In London, over 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marched through the streets of the city. A London newspaper headline dubbed them "The Knights of Gallipoli". Marches were held all over Australia in 1916; wounded soldiers from Gallipoli attended the Sydney march in convoys of cars, accompanied by nurses. Over 2,000 people attended the service in Rotorua. For the remaining years of the war, Anzac Day was used as an occasion for patriotic rallies and recruiting campaigns, and parades of serving members of the AIF were held in most cities. From 1916 onwards, in both Australia and New Zealand, Anzac memorials were held on or about 25 April, mainly organised by returned servicemen and school children in cooperation with local authorities.
Anzac Day was gazetted as a public holiday in New Zealand in 1920, through the Anzac Day Act, after lobbying by the New Zealand Returned Soldiers’ Association, the RSA. In Australia at the 1921 State Premiers' Conference, it was decided that Anzac Day would be observed on 25 April each year. However, it was not observed uniformly in all the States.
During the 1920s, Anzac Day became established as a National Day of Commemoration for the 60,000 Australians and 18,000 New Zealanders who died during the war. The first year in which all the Australian states observed some form of public holiday together on Anzac Day was 1927. By the mid-1930s, all the rituals now associated with the day—dawn vigils, marches, memorial services, reunions, sly two-up games—became part of Australian Anzac Day culture. New Zealand commemorations also adopted many of these rituals, with the dawn service being introduced from Australia in 1939.
Anzac Day since World War II
With the coming of the Second World War, Anzac Day became a day on which to commemorate the lives of Australians and New Zealanders lost in that war as well and in subsequent years. The meaning of the day has been further broadened to include those killed in all the military operations in which the countries have been involved.
Anzac Day was first commemorated at the Australian War Memorial in 1942, but, due to government orders preventing large public gatherings in case of Japanese air attack, it was a small affair and was neither a march nor a memorial service. Anzac Day has been annually commemorated at the Australian War Memorial ever since.
 Australians and New Zealanders recognise 25 April as a ceremonial occasion to reflect on the futility of war and to remember those who fought and lost their lives for their country. Commemorative services are held at dawn, the time of the original landing, mainly at war memorials in cities and towns across both nations. One of the traditions of Anzac Day is the 'gunfire breakfast' (coffee with rum added) which occurs shortly after many dawn ceremonies, and recalls the 'breakfast' taken by many soldiers before facing battle. Later in the day, ex-servicemen and ex-servicewomen meet and join in marches through the major cities and many smaller centres.
Dawn service
 After the First World War, returned soldiers sought the comradeship they felt in those quiet, peaceful moments before dawn. With symbolic links to the dawn landing at Gallipoli, a dawn stand-to or dawn ceremony became a common form of Anzac Day remembrance during the 1920s.
The first official dawn service was held at the Sydney Cenotaph in 1927. Dawn services were originally very simple and followed the operational ritual; in many cases they were restricted to veterans only. The daytime ceremony was for families and other well-wishers and the dawn service was for returned soldiers to remember and reflect among the comrades with whom they shared a special bond.
Before dawn the gathered veterans would be ordered to "stand-to" and two minutes of silence would follow. At the start of this time a lone bugler would play "The Last Post" (the derivation of "The Last Post") and then concluded the service with "Reveille". (the meaning of "Reveille" and "Rouse")In more recent times the families and young people have been encouraged to take part in dawn services, and services in Australian capital cities have seen some of the largest turnouts ever. Reflecting this change, the ceremonies have become more elaborate, incorporating hymns, readings, pipers and rifle volleys. Others, though, have retained the simple format of the dawn stand-to, familiar to so many soldiers.
 Typical modern dawn services follow a pattern that is now familiar to generations of Australians, containing the following features: introduction, hymn, prayer, an address, laying of wreaths, recitation, the playing of "The Last Post", a minute of silence, "Reveille", and the playing of both New Zealand and Australian national anthems. At the Australian War Memorial, following events such as the Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services, families often place red poppies beside the names of relatives on the Memorial's Roll of Honour. In Australia, sprigs of rosemary (see banner) are often worn on lapels and in New Zealand poppies have taken on this role.
The words to the "Last Post" The words to "Reveille"
Commemoration
Ceremonies are held in virtually every suburb and town in Australia and New Zealand on Anzac Day each year.In Australia and New Zealand, Anzac Day commemoration features solemn "Dawn Services", a tradition started in Albany, Western Australia on 25 April 1923 and now held at war memorials around both countries, accompanied by thoughts of those lost at war to the ceremonial sounds of The Last Post on the bugle. The fourth stanza of Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen (known as the "Ode of Remembrance") is often recited. (see below)
FOR THE FALLEN
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children
England mourns for her dead across the sea,
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow,
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
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.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again,
They sit no more at familiar tables of home,
They have no lot in our labour of the daytime,
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires and hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the night.
As the stars shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are stary in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
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Last Post
Playing of the Last Post is derived from the old custom of beating Tattoo. This word comes from the Dutch phrase - "doe den tap toe", meaning "turn the taps off".
In the days when British troops served in the lowlands, it was the custom for a drummer to march through the streets beating his drum to warn the troops to leave the taverns and return to their billets.
At the sound of the drum the Dutch innkeepers would order "doe den tap toe".
When bugle calls were generally introduced two posts were written. First Post symbolises the first inn to see that all soldiers had left and the Last Post symbolises the inspection of the last inn in the town.
It was then a simple step for the Last Post to become associated with Military Funerals, its playing denoting the end of the day. Played at funerals the Last Post is followed by the call Rouse, a later version of Reveille which symbolises the awakening of a new life.
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Can you Hear Australia's Heroes Marching?
Anzac Day is a national public holiday and is considered one of the most spiritual and solemn days of the year in Australia. Marches by veterans from all past wars, as well as current serving members of the Australian Defence Force and Reserves, with allied veterans as well as the Australian Defence Force Cadets and Australian Air League and supported by members of Scouts Australia, Guides Australia, and other uniformed service groups, are held in cities and towns nationwide. The Anzac Day Parade from each state capital is televised live with commentary. These events are generally followed by social gatherings of veterans, hosted either in a public house or in an RSL Club, often including a traditional Australian gambling game called two-up, which was an extremely popular pastime with ANZAC soldiers. The importance of this tradition is demonstrated by the fact that though most Australian states have laws forbidding gambling outside of designated licensed venues, on Anzac Day it is legal to play "two-up".
Despite federation being proclaimed in Australia in 1901, many[who?] argue the "national identity" of Australia was largely forged during the violent conflict of World War I, and the most iconic event in the war for most Australians was the landing at Gallipoli. Dr. Paul Skrebels of the University of South Australia has noted that Anzac Day has continued to grow in popularity; even the threat of a terrorist attack at the Gallipoli site in 2004 did not deter some 15,000 Australians from making the pilgrimage to Turkey to commemorate the fallen ANZAC troops.
New Zealand
People departing Wellington's cenotaph following the conclusion of the 2007 Dawn ServiceNew Zealand's Commemoration of Anzac Day is similar, though on several occasions the day has become an opportunity for some groups for political protest. In 1967, two members of the left-wing Progressive Youth Movement in Christchurch staged a minor protest at the Anzac Day Ceremony, laying a wreath protesting against the Vietnam War. They were subsequently convicted of disorderly conduct, but that was not the last time that the parade was used as a vehicle for protest. In 1978, a women's group laid a wreath dedicated to all the women raped and killed during war, and movements for feminism, gay rights, and peace used the occasion to draw attention to their respective causes at various times during the 1980s.
Artificial poppies placed in tribute on a cenotaph; mostly those marketed by RSA, with a lone White Poppies specimenThe number of New Zealanders attending Anzac Day events in New Zealand, and at Gallipoli, is increasing. For most New Zealanders though, the day is an occasion on which to formally pay tribute and to remember.[citation needed] For many, the day serves as a reminder of the futility of war.
Dawn Parades and other memorials nationwide are typically attended by the New Zealand Defence Force, the New Zealand Cadet Forces, members of the New Zealand Police, New Zealand Fire Service, Order of St John Ambulance Service (Youth and Adult Volunteers) as well as Scouting New Zealand, GirlGuiding New Zealand and other uniformed community service groups including in most places the local Pipe Band to lead or accompany the parade march, and sometimes a Brass Band to accompany the hymns.
Anzac Day now promotes a sense of unity, perhaps more effectively than any other day on the National calendar. People whose politics, beliefs and aspirations are widely different can nevertheless share a genuine sorrow at the loss of so many lives in war.
Paper poppies are widely distributed by the Returned Services Association and worn as symbols of remembrance. This tradition follows that of the wearing of poppies on Remembrance Sunday in other Commonwealth countries.
The day is a half-day holiday in New Zealand, as per the Anzac Day Act 1966.
Turkey
 In 1934, Kemal Atatürk delivered the following words to the first Australians, New Zealanders and British to visit the Gallipoli battlefields. This was later inscribed on a monolith at Ari Burnu Cemetery ( ANZAC Beach ) which was unveiled in 1985 and the words also appear on the Kemal Atatürk Memorial, Canberra:
"Those heroes that shed their blood And lost their lives. You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies And the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side Here in this country of o urs. You, the mothers, Who sent their sons from far away countries Wipe away your tears, Your sons are now lying in our bosom And are in peace
In 1990, to mark the 75th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing, Government officials from Australia and New Zealand as well as most of the last surviving Gallipoli veterans, and many Australian and New Zealand tourists travelled to Turkey for a special Dawn Service at Gallipoli. The Anzac Day Gallipoli Dawn Service has since attracted upwards of 15,000 people. Until 1999, the Gallipoli Dawn Service was held at the Ari Burnu War Cemetery at Anzac Cove, but the growing numbers of people attending resulted in the construction of a more spacious site on North Beach, known as the "Anzac Commemorative Site" in time for the year 2000 service.
Other overseas ceremonies
The High Commissioners of Australia and New Zealand lay wreaths at an Anzac Day ceremony at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
Anzac Day dawn service at the New Zealand Memorial, Hyde Park Corner, London, 25 April 2008.In Kanchanaburi, Thailand, a dawn service is held at Hellfire Pass, a rock cutting dug by allied Prisoners of War and Asian labourers for the Thai-Burma Railway. This cutting is where the greatest number of lives were lost during railway construction. The dawn service is followed by a “gunfire breakfast” (coffee with a shot (or two) of rum) recalling the 'breakfast' taken by many soldiers before facing battle. At 11am a second ceremony is held at the main POW cemetery in the city of Kanchanaburi, where 6,982 POWs are buried, mostly British, Australian, Dutch and Canadians. Over the years, both services have been attended by some Anzac ex-POWs and their families travelling from Australia, as well as ambassadors from the Australian and New Zealand consulates, the Kanchanaburi Provincial Governor, and others. The closest Saturday to Anzac Day also sees the ex-POWs attend an Australian Rules footy match between the Thailand Tigers and a team invited from neighbouring Asian Countries.
In the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa, and Tonga Anzac Day is also commemorated to honour their soldiers who participated in the campaign.
In Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea there is a dawn service at the Bomana War Cemetery. Bomana is the location of thousands of graves of Australian and New Zealand Servicemen who were killed during the New Guinea campaign of World War II.
In Newfoundland, Canada, the Gallipoli offensive is commemorated each year on 25 April by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment who hold a march from Government House through the streets of St. John's ending at the National War Memorial. Members of both the Australian and New Zealand armed forces are invited each year to participate in the march and wreath laying ceremonies. Other Canadian communities also mark Anzac Day; Calgary has had a Cenotaph Service annually at Central Park with participation from the local military.
In London, England, a Dawn Service is held, alternating between the Australian War Memorial, and the more recently constructed New Zealand War Memorial, both of which are at Hyde Park Corner. The day is also marked by a parade and wreath-laying at Whitehall, which is attended by official representatives and veterans associations of Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and other countries.
In France in the towns of Le Quesnoy and Longueval and in the town of Villers-Bretonneux (on the next closest weekend) because on 25 April 1918, the village of Villers-Bretonneux was liberated by the Anzacs.
In French Polynesia, Anzac Day has been commemorated with an official ceremony held in Papeete since 2006. The 2009 ceremony was attended by French Polynesia President Oscar Temaru, who praised the "courage and liberty" of Australian and New Zealand soldiers in a statement.
In Germany, Anzac Day is commemorated in Berlin, at the Commonwealth Kriegsgräber, Charlottenburg. (Commonwealth War Graves).
In Indonesia, Anzac Day is commemorated in Jakarta, Balikpapan, Bangka Island, Bandung, Denpasar and Surabaya.[citation needed]
In Israel Anzac Day is commemorated at the Commonwealth War cemetery on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem.
In Hodogaya a suburb of Yokohama, Japan, there is a small service held in the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery.
In the United States, Anzac Day is commemorated at the Los Angeles National Cemetery in Westwood, California. The New Zealand and Australian Consulates-General rotate hosting the service. The largest expatriate community of New Zealanders and Australians are in Southern California, hence this location. In New York a small mid-morning tribute to Anzac Day is held in the roof garden in the British Empire Building in Rockefeller Plaza, 620 5th Avenue, overlooking St. Patrick's Cathedral, on the Sunday nearest 25 April; it is an annual tradition that has been held at this locale since 1950. In Washington DC, Australian and New Zealand servicemen and women observe Anzac Day at a Dawn Service at the Korean War Veterans Memorial on 25 April each year. In Hawaii the Marine Corps hosts an Anzac Day Ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as "The Punchbowl", where several dignitaries from many countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S. attend to commemorate the memory of all who have fallen for their country. In Santa Barbara, CA, Anzac Day is remembered by the expatriate Australian and New Zealand communities. In the absence of an official World War I remembrance, several dignitaries from many countries including Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. attend an 11.11am morning service held at the Elings Park Veteran’s Memorial Walk on 25 April of each year. Two-up and a sausage sizzle follows the event.
In Ireland, Anzac Day is remembered by the expatriate New Zealand and Australian communities. In the absence of an official World War I remembrance, and in honour of Irish soldiers who fought and perished in the Dardanelles and elsewhere, Anzac Day commemorations are also attended by members of veterans groups and historical societies, including the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, O.N.E.T., the Royal British Legion, UN Veterans, and more. Since the mid-1980s, an evening service has been organised by the New Zealand-Ireland Association[32], which currently takes place in St Ann's Church, Dawson St, Dublin 2. For the 90th anniversary in 2005, a daylight service was held for the first time in the re-furbished Grangegorman Military Cemetery, Dublin 11. A Turkish Hazel tree, planted by the Ambassadors of Australia, New Zealand and Turkey, commemorates this occasion. It can be found to the south of the limestone Memorial Wall. Since this date, a dawn service has been held at this location. At the Ballance House in County Antrim, the official New Zealand centre in Northern Ireland, a midday Anzac reception and act of remembrance takes place. An Anzac Tea Dance is held every year by the Dun Laoghaire branch of the RBL.
In Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England, a parade is held on the nearest Sunday to Anzac Day. The service is held in a graveyard with several war graves of service men from Australia and New Zealand. Veterans and cadets from the local ATC sqn attend. In 2009, Filton cadets provides a band.
A service of remembrance to commemorate Anzac Day and Gallipoli is held at the National Memorial Arboretum. This commences with a service in the chapel followed by wreath laying at the Gallipoli memorial.
Reveille
The custom of waking of soldiers to a bugle call dates back to the Roman Legions when the rank and file were raised by horns playing Dianals Hymn.
To this date the French term for Reveille is "La Diana".
When bugle calls were officially introduced into the British System by George III a special call was written for the waking of troops. This was known as Reveille, the Reveille meaning "to wake" again, from the old French. Joseph Hayden is generally regarded as the composer of the calls which exist substantially unchanged to this day.
Reveille is meant to be played at the Dawn Service only. The Rouse (commonly referred to as Reveille) is the tune played at Commemorative Services and Funeral Services for ex-service men and women.
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In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
In Flanders’ Fields
In Flanders’ Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders’ Fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders’ Fields.
Oh! You who sleep in Flanders’ fields,
Sleep sweet – to rise anew;
We caught the torch you threw;
And holding high we kept
The faith with those who died.
We cherish, too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valour led.
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders’ Fields.
And now the torch and poppy red
Wear in honour of our dead
Fear not that ye have died for naught
We’ve learned the lesson that ye taught
In Flanders’ Fields.
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Come home! Come home! The last post is sounding
for you to hear. All good soldiers know very well there
is nothing to fear while they do what is right, and forget
all the worries they have met in their duties through the
year. A soldier cannot always be great, but he can be a
gentleman and he can be a right good pal to his comrades in
his squad. So all you soldiers listen to this – Deal fair by all
and you’ll never be amiss.
Be Brave! Be Just! Be Honest and True Men!
Words to Reveille
Rev-eil-lee! Rev-eil-lee is sounding
The bugle calls you from your sleep; it is the break of day.
You've got to do your duty or you will get no pay.
Come, wake yourself, rouse yourself out of your sleep
And throw off the blankets and take a good peek at all
The bright signs of the break of day, so get up and do not delay.
Get Up!
Orderly officer is on his round!
And if you're still a-bed he will send you to the guard
And then you'll get a drill and that will be a bitter pill:
So be up when he comes, be up when he comes,
Like a soldier at his post, a soldier at his post, all serene.
Get up at once, get up at once, the bugle's sounding,
The day is here and never fear, old Sol is shining.
The Orderly Officer's on his rounds.
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