Anzac Day 2014: Thousands attend services worldwide to commemorate Anzac Day

Australians have gathered at Anzac Day ceremonies around the world to commemorate the 99th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing, and pay their respects to the men and women who have served and died in war.

In Gallipoli, thousands made the pilgrimage to attend services at Anzac Cove and Lone Pine.

With many people holding off until next year's ticketed centenary services, numbers were down with just under 5,000 in attendance at Anzac Cove.

People also gathered at the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux in France to pay their respects.

Back in Australia, dawn services were held around the country, with an estimated 80,000 people in attendance at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance.

Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, were surprise attendees at the dawn service in Canberra and later laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier during the national Anzac Day ceremony in Canberra.

Wow. Thank, I've bookmarked that.

From dfwgator's link:

Alec Campbell, the last known survivor of the ANZAC forces at Gallipoli (and the last known survivor of Gallipoli) died on Thursday, May 16, 2002 at the age of 103.

Mr. Campbell enlisted at 16, and served at Gallipoli in 1915. He led Hobart's ANZAC Day parade three weeks prior to his death.

Lyrics:

And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off to Gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day
How the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He chased us with bullets, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
We buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again

Now those that were left, well we tried to survive
In a mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
But around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I woke up in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
Then turned all their faces away

And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams of past glory
And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore
The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me
And their ghosts may be heard as you pass the Billabong
Who'll come-a-waltzing Matilda with me?

Surprised to see that naturalman,our valued friend supplying info on all things Australian...particularly the Australian Armed Forces...hasn't weighed in here yet on this important day (at least not that *I've* seen to date).

I did make a comment in one post I made on the JSF, but for the most part was too busy at various commemoration services yesterday. In the recent past, while I've always attended some sort of memorial on ANZAC Day, I haven't done as much as I did yesterday. I've been in Canberra - at the moment I still am - and the national memorial services, though probably smaller than some I have seen in Melbourne, are extraordinary. I also had the honour of meeting some of our greatest heroes from the recent war, which was humbling and incredible. While we are still producing young people like this, Australia is in good hands.

I've been in Canberra - at the moment I still am - and the national memorial services, though probably smaller than some I have seen in Melbourne, are extraordinary.

Yes,it's easy to see that while the ceremonies in Canberra might not be as large as those in,say,Sydney or Melbourne,their having taken place in your capital would lend a special importance and solemnity to them.Our Tomb of the Unknown,Vietnam Wall or the recently opened WWII Memorial wouldn't,IMO,be *quite* the same if they were in New York or Chicago.

As I mentioned,I saw a short film clip of Sydney's dawn ceremony on the SMH's website...very moving indeed.

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