Lest we forget

April 25th is ANZAC Day in New Zealand and Australia. The name itself expands out into Australia and New Zealand Army Corps, which was the name given to the joint forces from New Zealand and Australia who were sent to Europe at the start of the First World War. These days the day recognises all fields of combat involving either of the countries, from the Boer War through to the Afghanistan conflict. The date itself relates to the most well known joint forces operation, being the disasterous beach landing in Gallipoli, Turkey. In reality, it was just of many shit situations where NZ and Australia soldiers found themselves during the 20th century. Throughout the First and Second World Wars, NZ and Australian soldiers were essentially used as cannon fodder, to protect the better trained British professional troops. Gallipoli was a classic example of that. ANZAC forces were primarily volunteer soldiers, as neither country had large fulltime armed forces prior to those times. They were sent into to the particularly difficult spots, with the prime objective to stay alive long enough to wear down the enemy to a point where the regular forces could come in. I guess it worked in the end, but it wasn't terribly respectful and both countries suffered significantly higher proportion casualties than their larger allied partners as a result. The Maori Battalion copped the worst of it. This group won a lot of medals but that was largely due to them being ordered into areas where no one else dared to go. Pretty crappy. The link between the 2 countries became diluted somewhat during the Second World War. When Japan entered the war, the majority of Australian troops were moved back into the Pacific region, while the bulk of the New Zealand forces remained in Europe. Still didn't mean a lot of fun for either of them. The Australians suffered pretty badly against the Japanese forces, while the NZers ended up on the wrong side of things in Italy, Crete, and North Africa. Overall, it was tough enough fighting opposing forces, without having to also fight bullying tactics from the Allied military superpowers of the day. They owe us big time.

Last year while we were on Crete for holiday, I took the opportunity to visit the military grave of one of my family members. My mother's cousin. The defence of Crete turned into a slaughter for the unfortunate soldiers stationed there. History says that their role was pivotal in the Second World War, as they held up key German forces for such a period of time that the Germans were late in the year starting their advance into Russia. And we all know how that delay turned out. Not sure that really justified leaving those poor guys there to fend for themselves, mind. I was the first member of the family to visit the site on Crete, and it was a very humbling experience. He was actually with a regiment of the Maori Battalion on that day, which goes a long way to explaining his unfortunate fate. He wasn't officially part of that group, but his unit had been sent to assist them in the defence of the airfield at Maleme only a few hours before he died. I did a bit of research before travelling, and was able to physically retrace what would have been his final moments. It's hard to imagine a 22 year "kid" going through such a thing. I don't know how I would have coped, and I'm always grateful that I'll never have to find out. I remember getting a little jumpy when the Falklands battle began in the 80s. My friends and I sweated a bit through that time. Anyway, as part of my research I came in contact with a group who were actively recording and photographing war graves around the world. They were missing a few sites on Crete, which I was happy to visit and record. I've also taken on the task of picking up for the missing sites in Scandinavia. There are quite a few sailors and aircrew buried throughout Sweden, Finland, and Norway. It will be a long term project, but I'm finding it interesting, trying to learn a bit more about the people buried at the graves I've visited. Putting a face to the name, if you will. In Crete, for example, I came across a number of graves of soldiers who died several months after the war had ended. I figured there must have been a story behind those. A bit of a morbid hobby, perhaps, but I like to think that someone would be pleased that a loved one hasn't completely been forgotten.