Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and Prince Andrew attended Anzac Day commemorations held on Tuesday, 25 April 2017.

Australians and New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day in honour of those brave men who died at Gallipoli in the Dardanelles in 1915.

The ill-fated military campaign by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) against the Turks has become an important anniversary to remember troops from both countries who served and died in times of war.

Gallipoli was the first time that soldiers from Australia and New Zealand fought under their own flags and is seared in the national consciousness as a point where their nations came of age, emerging from the shadow of the British empire.

Turkey’s first President Kemal Ataturk extended a message, with great magnanimity and statesmanship, to the war widows and mothers of all the Allied troops of Gallipoli, which contributed greatly to reconciliation and the friendship that now exists between those countries and Turkey.

His words are usually read out by the Turkish ambassador during Anzac Services.

Papua New Guinea 75th Anniversary

The Governor-General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd) and Lady Cosgrove attended the 75th anniversary of the New Guinea Campaign at a dawn service at Bomana War Cemetery, near Port Moresby.

Sir Peter delivered the address to remember all those who gave their all for our country. He also paid tribute to one of the last surviving Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels, 91-year-old Havala Lavla.

Local Papua New Guinea people who helped Australian soldiers along the Kokoda Track in WWII were called the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels.

Sir Peter later attended an Anzac Day Ceremony at the Isurava Memorial and a Commemorative Service at the Memorial to Australian Soldiers at Kokoda, in memory of one of the fiercest battles fought during in Papua New Guinea against the Japanese.

The Governor-General also met with members of the Kokoda community and trekkers making the pilgrimage along the Kokoda Trail.

Anzac Day in London


Prince Andrew, the Duke of York paid tribute to Australian and New Zealand servicemen and woman at a Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial at Hyde Park Corner. He joined Australian and New Zealand High Commissioners Alexander Downer and Sir Jerry Mataparae, and other dignitaries as they laid wreaths.

A wreath-laying ceremony and parade were held at The Cenotaph, Whitehall, where the Australian and New Zealand High Commissioners laid the first wreaths, followed by British government representatives, High Commissioners, Ambassadors and representatives from various service and ex-service organizations, including the British Legion.

Prince Andrew and the Australian and New Zealand High Commissioners attended a Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey.

The New Zealand, Australia, Turkey and the United Kingdom flags were carried through the Abbey and placed beside the High Altar.

Australian High Commissioner Alexander Downer read from Isaiah 9:1–7, and the High Commissioner for New Zealand, Sir Jerry Mateparae read a passage from John 14:1–6.

Abdurrahman Bilgiç, Ambassador of Turkey read the words of Mustafa Kemal Atatűrk inscribed on the memorial at ANZAC Cove in the Dardanelles.

Gallipoli Memorial at St Paul’s Cathedral

The Australian and New Zealand High Commissioners, and President of the Gallipoli Association Captain Christopher Fagan also attended a short service and wreath laying ceremony at the Gallipoli Memorial in the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral.

Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, as Patron of the Gallipoli Association, unveiled the Gallipoli Memorial on 28 November 1995 in the presence of eight surviving veterans.

The Gallipoli Association erected the Memorial to commemorate all those who took part in the Campaign in 1915.

Hashtags: #AnzacDay #25April #anzac #anzacday2017 #LestWeForget

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