Original toot date: 25 April, 2023

A few photos from today's ANZAC service in Keilor Village. I didn't have the money for a wreath, so a made a little one with some rosemary from my garden 😊

If you would like to support the Keilor Historical Society, consider joining or purchasing their very affordable publications. More information at: https://keilorhistoricalsociety.org.au/

#WeAreBrimbank #LestWeForget
#ANZACday

#Timwilson #Anzacday #wreath

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2023/04/26/tim-wilson-wreathgate-anzac/

from Anzac Day - some veterans prefer the quiet remembrance rather than the vainglorious and religious circus that public events have become
#anzacday

Today is #AnzacDay, a day when #Australia and #NewZealand remember their fallen soldiers. One of the ways you remember the soldiers is to bite down on these, #AnzacBiscuits.

King George VI watches as an Australian soldier strips a #VickersMG while blindfolded. AWM dates the photo to c.December 1940 when a brigade of Australian troops were briefly stationed in the UK. #AnzacDay #AnzacDay2023

Original tweet : https://twitter.com/historicfirearm/status/1650865399683223555

On #AnzacDay . This year is the first year I’ve sadly not done anything for it such as go to a Dawn Service (my father is a Vietnam Vet, my grandfather in WW2, and great grandfather in Royal Scots Greys) as am getting ready to go to #Australia . But #lestweforget .

Happy ANZAC day to all the Aussies out there! #anzacday

Remembering my Grand uncle Ralph Feldwick on ANZAC Day who was killed the first day after landing at Gallipoli 25 April 1915. Ralph served with the Canterbury Infantry Battalion, in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. His older brother Leslie, of the Otago Infantry Battalion NZEF, was also killed at Gallipoli a week later on May 2

#ANZAC #ANZACDay #NZEF #Gallipoli

Remembrance
©️ Nona Rose 2020

Take this poppy
Soaked with memories
Of fallen sons
Of lost daughters
Of battles long since over
And pin it to your breast
That it may pierce your heart
And spark a fire
Deep within your soul
To end the misery
That comes from war
And rips out our hearts
And forces tears from our eyes
And gives nothing but sorrow.

Take this poppy
And weave it through
The wreath you will lay
On the memorial for those
Who sacrificed so much
So we can live
With the freedoms
We so enjoy
And, all too often,
Take for granted
But for which we are thankful
And must show our gratitude
More than those rare occasions
Scattered throughout the year.

Take this poppy
And hold it dear
Though the colour may fade
And the petals fall
Because it is all I have
That I can give
To remember those soldiers,
Those high flying pilots
Those naval combatants
Whose names can be found
Etched on monuments
And shines and memorials
That no name should appear on
But too many do.

#AnzacDay #Poetry

Remembrance Day
©️ Nona Rose 2020

Should I need a blood red popoy
To remember those fateful days
When boys and men stood side by side
And fall one by one?

Perhaps there is no symbol more fitting
Than that simple, innocuous bloom
That triggars heart to cry out for
Simple, innocuous souls
Who gave all they had in this word
To save us all from harm.

Should I need a day to remember
The sacrifice so longago made
By men whose name i know not
But whose deads live long after they are gone?

Perhaps it is but one day
Which brings us all together
To mourn the family and friends
Who cannot return our calls
And to speak for the minor
Who no longer have a voice

Should I naed toremember war
When it pains me so to recall
The heartache af those mothers and wives
Whose loved ones never returned?

Perhaps if do not remember
Then they are forever lost
Not only on a lonesome battefield
But to the sands af time as well,
And what tragedy it would be
For their fight to have been for naught

#AnzacDay

Eleven (continued)
©️ Nona Rose 2020

I've welcomed eleven grandchildren
But none of them were yours
Because you never stood a chance
Fighting for what cause?

I've heard eleven different reasons
To justify the sacrifice you made
But none can mend a broken heart.
It is a debt never to be repaid.

I planted eleven trees at home
To grow as you never could.
They will live on in your name:
A legacy carved in wood.

I placed eleven poppies by your head,
One for every year since you left.
They hold all your hopes and dreams
Now shattered and I am bereft.

I grieved for you at eleven
And at twelve and at one.
I will grieve for you each hour
Of each day until I am done.

#AnzacDay #Poetry #PoemsByNona

Eleven
©️ Nona Rose 2020

I had eleven days to say goodbye
When you told me you'd enrolled.
You were but a fresh faced lad,
Just eighteen, truth be told.

I cried nought but eleven tears
As you left for foreign lands.
There would be no postcards, though,
Just notes scribbled by muddy hands.

I opened eleven letters that year
And each contained less of you.
I would have given anything
For another before the year was through.

I stood for eleven seconds that day,
A young soldier on my stoop,
Before I could reach out my hand,
My mind in a never ending loop.

I read that telegram eleven times
But even then it didn't sink in
That you were not coming home to me,
Your life hadn't a chance to begin.

I mourned for eleven solemn days
Before you were returned to me.
A simple service rationed out,
I was glad you weren't there to see.

(Continued next toot)

#AnzacDay #Poetry #PoemsByNona

ANCAC Day 2022
©️ Nona Rose 2022

Another morning
Another break of dawn
Creeping up
On weary bones still standing
Another city
Another call of bagpipes
Feeding tears
To hearts broken long ago
Another year
Another loss remembered
Held sorrowfully
Just as all the rest
Another service
Another lest we forget
Respectfully said
By those who know too well
Another day
Another minute stood in silence
Head bowed
Until we meet again one day

#AnzacDay #Poetry #PoemsByNona

In Remembrance
©️ Nona Rose 2021

I lost you before I knew you And now all I have are days
Where wreaths are place solemnly
Under figures cast in bronze.
Poppies lost from pins on chests
Line streets so overwhelmed
With grief and sorrow and heartfelt thanks
That can never be repaid.
Your memories are lost to me
As I stand amongst the crowd,
These people didn't know you either
And we are gathered here alone.
Lost behind a veil of tears
With nowhere left to go
Save tumbling from cheeks well used
To days such as these.

#AnzacDay #Poetry #PoemsByNona

Blog posts on #AnzacDay

2013
https://nonas-random-meanderings.blogspot.com/2013/04/not-fighting-tears-anzac-day-2013.html?m=0

2014
https://nonas-random-meanderings.blogspot.com/2014/04/anzac-day-2014.html?m=0

2015
https://nonas-random-meanderings.blogspot.com/2015/04/lest-we-forget-anzac-day-2015.html?m=0

2020
https://nonas-random-meanderings.blogspot.com/2020/04/anzac-day-2020.html?m=0

As Anzac Day comes to a close it is fitting to reflect on war, the armed forces, and how those things are portrayed both the the public sphere and in private.

I have written extensively on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day and I will link to those in the thread below.

Today, my only though is of my grandfather, after whom I named my son, who was deployed to PNG during WWII as a driver for the Air Force, leaving behind a wife with 6 children and came home a changed man. He died when I was young and I wish I’d gotten the chance to talk to him as an adult. My relationship with him was different from my cousins, who were much older than me and found him scary. All I remember is sitting at his feet showing him photos and calling him to dinner by clapping loudly because that’s what grandma did.

#LestWeForget #AnzacDay #memories #war #MilitaryService #WorldWarTwo

RT from Gray Connolly (@GrayConnolly)

One of many reasons why #AnzacDay events are important - and why councils should not cancel them & why MPs etal should always attend them - is they are a rare chance for veterans & families to speak informally to officials whose decisions affect their lives, often detrimentally

https://twitter.com/AbbeyGeran/status/1650593524910534656

Original tweet : https://twitter.com/GrayConnolly/status/1650782655590572033

ANZAC Ashes trophy, which holds the ashes of two cigars inside a razor case that travelled to Gallipoli, was last seen in 1954. Now, the century-old relic has been found.

#anzacday #anzacday2023 #history #football #mastodonfc

@abc_news

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-25/anzac-soccer-ashes-rediscovered-after-almost-70-years/102263154

#MattGolding #Cartoon @goldingcartoons ·Biscuits of war. @theage #AnzacDay #auspol
#alttext

On this #ANZACday I think of @Trevor and his excellent podcast episode of what an ANZAC day service could, should and would sound like with all the religion and valorisation of war.

A sombre reflection of the death and trauma war causes and how we should avoid it at all costs.