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ANZAC COVE -
ANZAK KOYU
Gallipoli - Gelibolu Yarimadasi
Turkey -
Türkiye
A visit to
the
Gallipoli Battlefield - Çanakkale Savaşı'nın
94 years on the eve of the Battle for Chunuk Bair - Conk Bayiri
"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 in this country of ours…
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.
After having lost their lives on this land
They have become our sons as well."
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
The Atatürk Memorial in Wellington, New Zealand
25 April 2010
95 years since the Landings, 25 April 1915
Lest We
Forget
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Chunuk Bair, the New Zealand cemetery overlooking the objective, the
Dardanelles |
The New
Zealand and Turkish Memorial at Chunuk Bair
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In memoriam of my Great
Uncle, Maurice Oswald Moore, KIA 6/7 August 1915 |
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MOORE, Lance Corporal, MAURICE OSWALD, 7/377. Canterbury Mounted Rifles,
N.Z.E.F..
Killed in action 6th - 7th August 1915.
Age 26. Son of C. S. F. and M. A. Moore, of 57, Bretts Rd., St. Albans,
Christchurch. Native of Okain's Bay, Canterbury. 4. |
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My great uncle was wounded during the landings on
April 25th. He was evacuated to Lemos Island to the General Hospital and
then to Alexandria, Egypt to a Convalescent hospital.
Posted back to the Gallipoli Peninsula, arriving on the 4th of
August, in time for the offensive to take Chunuk Bair.
His records show that he died on the night of 6/7th August, the first
night of the offensive.
When I was a young child, my Grandfather, father and uncle Ron were
sitting on the back porch drinking beer and I remember my Grandfather
telling them about his brother, Maurice and The Gallipoli campaign. They
had served together in the Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry. He said
his brothers death on the battlefield was not a swift one, he had laid
on the battlefield for some four days before he had died. They could
hear him calling out but were unable to reach him in no-mans-land.
Great Uncle Maurice has no named grave, he lay on the
battlefield until 1921 when he as finally buried on Chunuck Bair after the war in an unmarked mass grave. Only 11 of the
700 killed in action on Chunuck Bair were Identified.
His name is engraved on the New Zealand memorial at
Chunuk Bair.
My father, born in 1918 was named Maurice Oswald, in memory of his
uncle. He went on to serve in the Pacific in WWII with the No. 9
Reconnaissance Bomber Squadron, RNZAF.
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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 a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, 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 day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our 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 that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
1869-1943, written in 1914
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From Istanbul |
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By bus from Istanbul. We had pre-booked the bus from
Istanbul to Ecebat. This booking included pickup at the Hotel in the old
city to the Büyük Otogar (Main Bus Terminal), 168 bus booking offices
and terminals.....The bus company was Çanakkale Truva bus
company, and are found an Terminal 137 AYDIN Turizm, ÇANAKKALE TRUVA.
These buses leave Istanbul every hour for Canakkale and the fare
includes the ferry across the Dardanelles. Getting off at Ecebat the bus
stops outside TJ's Hotel, at the ferry terminal.
The size if the bus terminal will blow you away but the
taxi/shuttle will drop you off at the right office. The staff there are
really helpful and a cafe to sit while you wait.
The buses are modern and come with a steward serving coffee, tea and water.
The trip takes 6 hours, most of it on a modern motorway with a break at a
roadhouse for lunch/dinner.
My conclusion: Well worth the trip, comfortable and great scenery. |
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Lone Pine |
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The Dardanelles |
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How to get there.... |
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There are many web sites offering tours to the battlefield.
I picked one, TJ's Tours, and booked with them, why ? Well the appeared to
offer what I wanted, Accommodation, tour, travel bookings. We were not to be
disappointed by the service offered and given by TJ's.
The did everything for us, arranged our bus transport too and from Istanbul,
accommodated us in their own hotel in Eceabat on the Gallipoli side of the
Dardanelles. |
 http://www.anzacgallipolitours.com/ |
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Would I have done anything different.... |
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Well yes, but not a lot. I did my homework, I read books
from the library, chased the links in Google and talked to people who had
been. I thought I had the right mix and I was not disappointed. But it was
not until I had got on the ground did I find out a few more facts.
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