ANZAC Day 2014

[Grizzled Ian]

Most of us have read of Downunder Kilt's problem with a new kilt that he had made in The Australia tartan which was delivered in good time for ANZAC Day, today, 25th April. Rather than read further reports of what kilted Australians and New Zealanders got up to today in a thread about Mike's kilt, how about we make our contributions in this thread. I will kick off if you like, even though I did not strap on a kilt myself today.

My day started at 2.45am with a quick cuppa and bite and into my Choir uniform (hence trousers and no kilt) to sing at the 5.30am Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial here in Canberra, attended by some 37,000 sombrely and respectfully quiet Canberrans and visitors. I remembered three great-uncles whose graves I have visited, two in Beach Cemetery at Gallipoli, and one in Ration Farm Cemetery in Northern France.

We also sang at the march of veterans and service groups at the AWM later in the morning. English Bloke, if you have been wondering where Will, Kate and George have been lately, their itinerary included these two events today, and during the march, the Governor-General invited the Duke of Cambridge to share the saluting stand with him.

Our visitors also planted a sapling grown from a pine cone of the now 80-year old Lone Pine Tree planted by the Duke of Gloucester in the grounds of the AWM in 1934. The old tree is nearing the end of its life. It in turn had been germinated from a tree grown in the Yarralumla nursery, which had come from a cone found on one of the pine logs that Turkish soldiers had used as cover over their trench lines at the Lone Pine section of the Gallipoli battlefield. That original pine cone was recovered and sent to his mother by an Australian soldier looking for the bodies of his two brothers, killed during the battle at Lone Pine on 7 August 1915.

Back into Choir uniform, after a deep but brief sleep early in the afternoon, for our third engagement of the day. We sing at Brumbies home games, the Brumbies being Canberra's team in the Super 15 southern hemisphere provincial Rugby competition. Apposite on ANZAC Day to play a New Zealand team, so it was last year's champions the Chiefs from Waikato who came, to be demolished in a 5 try to 2 rugby lesson. Oh, and we sang well. Before kick-off, there was a short ceremony on the field involving the mounting of a catafalque party, a bugler for the Last Post and the Rouse, and a temporary flag pole near half-way. At half-time, a couple of golf carts drove slowly around the ground carrying the four surviving Australian Victoria Cross recipients, Keith Payne (Vietnam War), and Ben Roberts-Smith, Mark Donaldson and Daniel Keighran (Afghanistan).

Enough from me; and no photos - really, who wants to see a photo without a kilt in it. So, this invitation to kilted Aussies and Kiwis to share their kilted ANZAC Day with the rest of us. And especially Mike, even though we can't see pics of your kilt in action today, it would be great to see photos taken later of the ensemble you wore today, including the famous Australia tartan kilt.

LEST WE FORGET