ANZAC DAY - WAR MEMORIAL

[funwitha7d]

On the 25 April 2015 it will be 100 years since New Zealand and Australian forces landed at Gallipoli back in 1915, in World War I.

Many allied soldiers died in this battle but also many Ottoman soldiers. All across Australia and New Zealand people will turn out in there 1000s to remember those who were lost as a result of this war but it tends to be a time to reflect on many things. Hundreds of thousands of poppies are worn as a sign of remembrance.

There is also a huge contingent of Kiwis in Turkey for the commemorations including this very talented 17 year old student Caitlin Papuni McLellan.

I live near Whangarei and the Council and RSA have built a new memorial that will be the centre of the district's Anzac Day commemorations. Family descended from the soldiers are invited to pin a little information on a cross and each year some of the names are read out to bring it all home to us so far removed. These are a few photos of the memorial, may add some more after the 25th.

View attachment 99094

 

[tirediron]

Nice series!

 

[Gary A.]

Thank you for sharing. As an American, I rarely recognize special days from other countries/cultures ... but ANZAC Day, is just something very touching and special. God Bless the descendants.

 

[The_Traveler]

0550 is underexposed.

 

[funwitha7d]

Nice series!

Thank you for sharing. As an American, I rarely recognize special days from other countries/cultures ... but ANZAC Day, is just something very touching and special. God Bless the descendants.

0550 is underexposed.

Yeah I got there early and the light was poor, did not want to go over ISO800 but should have used my tripod... thanks for the comments and feedback.

My daughter gets back from Europe today and part of her school trip was to Flanders Fields Museum and Tyne Cot Cemetery so she will have a much better understanding (probably than me also) about the loss and sacrifice associated with war.

 

[The_Traveler]

 

[funwitha7d]

The_Traveler that looks much better but how did you do that? what did you use please?

 

[The_Traveler]

Curves layer in ps to increase brightness and contrast.

 

[funwitha7d]

thanks I will give it a try

 

[BananaRepublic]

There was allot of Irish at Gallipoli also,

 

[funwitha7d]

There was allot of Irish at Gallipoli also,

This really changed the way we viewed war, so many crazy mistakes were made

 

[funwitha7d]

In the build up to ANZAC Day I have taken a few more photos from Auckland this time.
Lest We Forget, water (tears) run continuously over this memorial.
There are some other lovely words here also..."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". (The Ode comes from For the Fallen, a poem by the English poet and writer Laurence Binyon and was published in London in The Winnowing Fan: Poems of the Great War in 1914.

Giant Poppy, an art and community project to build a giant poppy out of individual red steel discs, many with hand written notes to the fallen.

A closer view of the poppy

Example of the messages (some of these moistened my eyes)

Messages are simple and heart felt...

Some many children are paying there respects, its so great to see...

 

[BananaRepublic]

I often wonder if images of modern conflicts such as those taken in the trenches of ww1 especially and ww2 were shown un edited in mainstream media today I might dawn on us in the west the reality of what so many people in the world have to deal with in conflict zones.

 

[funwitha7d]

unfortunately with the reality TV craze so popular it may not come across as "real" to the viewer, just another CGI masterpiece...although when that painful and shocking image of Kim Phuc was published in 1972 this really did further polarise opinion on the Vietnam war and really bought the message home about collateral damage.

 

[funwitha7d]

This memorial is from one of those many small towns, in this case Oamaru, great words ...