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John McCloy
GALLIPOLI
It’s one am, nineteen-fifteen
The soldiers are given a meal
Hot soup, hot stew and a nice cup of tea
Some warm comfort before their ordeal.
Their spirits are high on this twenty-fifth day
Of April at Gallipoli.
The landing ahead should be fine it was thought
Oh God, If only they’d seen.
They loaded the boats, the launches were filled,
All landing craft crammed to the brim
The first wave of men, fifteen hundred in all,
Through the cold and the mist sailed right in
To the beach that today we call Anzac Cove
To answer the call of their country,
Never knowing how many would die on that beach
The sands full of the dead and so bloody.
Up high on the cliffs the Turks were all waiting
Their guns trained on the enemy soldiers.
As each craft hit the beach, machine guns were fired
Bringing hundreds of young lives to a closure.
But as men fell down dead, other boats they arrived
Disgorging their unwitting cargo
And they tried to succeed, the close cliffs to attain,
No stopping, the dead given no sorrow.
For eight long, dark months the Aussies fought with their mates
From New Zealand and Britain and France
To climb those steep cliffs and capture Constantinople
But the Turks would not allow them that chance
By the end of the year eight thousand Australians
Lay dead on Gallipoli’s shores,
And today we reflect on those men and their deeds
And the thousands who fought in all wars.
Legends were made and heroes created
We know hundred of stories from then
Of how young brave Aussie soldiers fought for their lives
And the freedoms we cherish and when,
The nick name of diggers was conferred on the boys
For the trenches from which they all fought
And mateship was born that continues today
And we learn of the lessons they taught.
Gallipoli taught us to have pride in our nation
To defend all of our freedoms, our mates
Our families, our children, our lives and our homes
Though sometimes the sacrifices are great.
Those soldiers who went were an unselfish mob
And they died or they lived with great glory
And we should never forget or not understand what they did
The amazing Gallipoli story.
Over the years there have been many conflicts
The Korean and Vietnam wars
The Second World War was billed as a classic
We would not see anything like it once more.
But in year twenty eleven our soldiers are there
In Afghanistan deserts they fight
Trying to bring about peace in a terrorised world
And destroying the terrorists might.
And so come Anzac Day, we must hold our heads high
And remember our soldiers through time
They didn’t do it for glory, they did it for love
The love of the country which they left far behind
Many have died, they still die today
As a result of the conflicts they’ve known
So let us all stand and search inside our hearts
And let them know they are never alone.
So please join with me and remember them all
The men and women who have given a great deal
Their time and their love and so often their lives
The sacrifices for you and for me
And as the sun goes to rest and in the morning we rise
Forever we’ll be in their debt
Anzac Day is the day we remember them all
And should never allow ourselves to forget.
©Copyright March 11, 2011 by John McCloy
Page Created: Tuesday May 31, 2011 | Page Updated:Tuesday May 31, 2011
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