Anzac Day

ANZAC ASSEMBLY  Friday 10 May 2013

Kiana: Good morning and welcome to our guests from the Manurewa RSA, members of our community, visitors, staff and students.

Please stand for the National Anthem – first verse in Maori, second verse in English.
 

Kiana: This year is the ninety-eighth anniversary of the ANZAC landing at Gallipoli, on the 25^th of April, 1915. Every year since then, this event has been solemnly commemorated in New Zealand and Australia. There are also  ceremonies at Gallipoli, in Le Quesnoy in France, in London – even in Antartica – and wherever any New Zealand armed forces are serving. New Zealanders and Australians all around the world  pause on this day to remember  those young men and women who served and died defending the rights and freedoms we enjoy today.

Here is a poem by Private Richard Hamon, who served in Vietnam with W2 Company from 1968 to 1969. It reminds us that Anzac Day is not only about the landing at Gallipoli but also about every other conflict our armed forces have been involved in since then.

Anzac

(Cameron)

Anzac is the day we all remember,

when the troops of Australia and New Zealand came together to fight the war of all wars, that was supposed to end the misery and hatred among nations and men

But alas, we have answered many calls with our Brothers in Arms:
World War Two, Korea, Borneo, Malaya, and Vietnam
At every call the Spirit of Anzac was kept alive with pride
We did fight gallantly against hardened enemies, side by side
(Ethan)

That Spirit lives on as our young men and women still fight on distant battle fields

for the right
While in fields afar the poppies still bloom
As our gardens of stone fill with gloom
So you see, Anzac means more than just the first Great War
When we commemorate those who live no more
Let us remember all who have served
And without regret,  their faithful service. Lest We Forget

Divya: This year we have been reseaching the Victoria Cross.  The Victoria Cross is the highest military medal awarded for valour in the Commonwealth and has been awarded 1, 356 times. It was introduced by Queen Victoria in 1856 to reward acts of valour during the Crimean War.  All Victoria Crosses are made from the bronze of cannons captured from the Russians during the Battle of Sebastopol in the Crimean War.  It is estimated that there is enough bronze for about 85 more medals from this same source. 

To be awarded a Victoria Cross you must have three officers at a higher level to witness your action and you must have put your own life in danger for others. Your actions must help turn the tide of the battle. 

The Victoria Cross has been awarded to 22 New Zealand Military Personnel  including Corporal Willie Apiata. He is the most recent recipient of the Victoria Cross. Captain Charles Upham is the only NewZealand combat soldier, and only the third person ever, to be awarded a second Victoria Cross. The first member of the New Zealand military to receive a Victoria Cross was the English-born Major Charles Heaphy in 1864.

We have researched New Zealand recipents of the Victoria Cross since the New Zealand Wars in the 1800s,  and our work is on display around the hall.  We would like to share some of our research with you.

Terina: Corporal Cyril Royston Guyton Bassett, usually known simply as Corporal Bassett, is a New - Zealand born Victoria Cross recipient. He is most famous for his saying "All my mates ever got were wooden crosses."

He received a Victoria Cross because of bravery and devotion to duty. It was on the Gallipoli Peninsula on the 7th of August, 1915. After the New Zealand Infantry Brigade had attacked the ridge, Corporal Bassett, in full daylight and under a continuous and heavy fire, succeeded in laying a telephone line from the old position to the new one on Chunuk Bair. This was important because the Generals needed to be able to give orders to all soldiers. Without the telephone line on Chunuk Bair, soldiers in action would have no way of receiving their orders. I think that this was incredibly brave of him. He could have easily lost his life, but succeeded in his task.

Lauren: During the night 7th July 1941, on his way back from an attack on Munster, James Allan Ward’s aircraft was attacked from beneath. Fire broke out near the starboard engine. The crew had to extinguish the fire with what they had, and tried with their flasks of coffee without success. James Ward fought the fire by getting out of the aircraft and climbing along the wing. When he got to the engine, he smothered the fire with a canvas cover that was used as a cushion, and he tried to block the leaking fuel pipe. This was done during a night flight.  Because of James Ward's heroic actions, the aircraft made it home safely, saving all of his crew.

James Ward died two months later, aged 22 years, when his aircraft was shot down over Germany.

Mason: Moana Nui A Kiwa Ngarimu is a New Zealand born Victoria Cross winner.  He was in  the 28 Maori Battalion . On March 26 1943, Ngarimu and his men tried to take a German machine gun setup. He led his men up the hill, but it turned out to be wrong. He was under heavy fire, but still fought back and told his men to stay and fight. He was shot twice, but still fought for his mates. The next morning, Ngarimu and only one more of his men were alive. Ngarimu died the next morning during the counter attack. He died on the 27 March 1943. Ngarimu’s  Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously  to his family back home at a hui at Ruatoria.  I think that I would of reacted differently and kept myself safe, but he had a lot of courage and did what he was told to do.

Ibrahim:Hazlitt Upham actually won two Victorian Cross medals. The first was won in Crete. He won it for being brave defending the allies by taking out heavily guarded machine gun outposts. The second medal was won in Egypt. He won this for going forward while assaulting the enemy lines, destroying a truck load of German soldiers, and staying with his men to do the final assault, all with being wounded twice.

What I think about Charles Upham is that he was a "risk-taker", for he goes into critical danger to protect and avenge his mates.

Kiana: The Intermediates will now sing an Australian song called Lest We Forget. It is a message to old soldiers saying, even though there are fewer of  you  marching in Anzac Parades each year, you can be  sure that you will always be remembered.

Lest We Forget

Although you’re getting on in years,

And mem’ries seem to disappear

Some things will never fade away

Some mem’ries will stay

There’s one day in each year,

you will not forget

If this year’s your last year, we will not forget

One more parade, one less digger by your side

One year you’re marching

The next year you ride

Hold your head up high, hold your head up high

Lest we forget, Lest we forget

It seems a long, long time ago

A young man far away from home

Friends made and lost along the way

Some mem’ries will stay

Those who died, those who lived, you will not forget

If this year’s your last year we will not forget

The sound of cannon roaring by

The smoke and fire covered sky

The nights of terror as you pray

Some mem’ries will stay

At the closing of the day

A grateful nation will rise to pray

Some things will never fade away

Some mem’ries will stay

Not for one day, but always, we will not forget

Your memory forever, we will not forget

Kiana: As part of our Anzac Day study, some of us have researched our families’ war stories and involvement in the armed services.  Paige will tell us about her family’s war stories.

Paige:  As I’ve got older, Anzac Day has become more important to me. I have so many family connections with men who have served in wars, and some of these men lost their lives.

First, three of my great, great uncles: Alexander, Herbert, and Douglas Whitburn served in the First World War, and two didn't return home. They were three of ten children, and Douglas had a twin sister.   1916 was a traumatic year for all of them.  Douglas was shot at Gallipoli and was invalided back to New Zealand. He recovered well enough to remain in the army and was a Regimental Staff Quarter Master Sergeant in charge of the stores at Trentham until 1919.

Later in 1916, Alexander and Herbert were killed on the Somme in France within four months of each other. Our family has a copy of what is possibly the last letter Herbert wrote before he was killed. In this letter he is commiserating with his family about the death of his older brother Alexander, who had just been killed on the Somme.

Max: ... “It is sad about poor old Alec, but we must expect it on a job like this. I am very glad to see Mother is keeping up bravely. I was rather frightened about her when I received the news …I don’t think there is any chance of my getting home until I have been to the front again. As you know, they don’t often send fit men home… If I get through this time, I shall come home, God willing. You talk about revenge for poor Alec;  well you know,  it’s all right when we come to grips with them, but it’s no use to expose yourself in France. In fact, we were only having a picnic at Anzac as regards gunfire. But as I say, when we get going, then we will let them know we are about… I have just passed my 22^nd birthday. Two years ago on the 9^th August, I enlisted. And what a two years!  I think the most eventful of my life…

Paige: Herbert had just passed his 22nd birthday when he died.  You can find Herbert’s and Alexander’s names inscribed on the War Memorial monument in Manurewa.

I also have two great uncles from the Waikato district who served in the Second World War. Joe Miller was a farmhand and became a gunner with the New Zealand artillery.  He died from disease, aged 23, and is buried in the  Cairo War Memorial Cemetery in Egypt. His brother Cliff Miller luckily came home.

Both of my grandfathers were in the army; one did compulsory military service,  working at North Head,  protecting the Waitemata Harbour, the other was an Irish Guard,  and part of his duties were protecting the Queen at Buckingham Palace. He also carried out a United Nations posting in Cyprus.

My father was in the British army and served in the Gulf War and Northern Ireland.

On Anzac Day, when my dad marches in the parade in Manurewa, I will be there to remember all of my family who served overseas and in New Zealand, and especially my uncles Herbert and Alexander Whitburn, and Joe Miller who never came home. 

Kiana: The poem Taking a Stand was written  in 2011 by John Bailey, a British soldier serving in Afghanistan. He asks us  to  remember and be thankful for what we have today because of the people who fought and died to uphold these freedoms, and he asks us to think about those serving  - and dying - overseas today. 

Taking a Stand by John Bailey (Hayden/ Lisa Ineen)

I ask you to stand with me
For both the injured and the lost

I ask you to keep count with me
Of all the wars and what they cost

I ask you to be silent with me
Quietly grateful for our lot

As I expect you're as thankful as me
For the health and life we've got

I ask that you wish them well with me
All those still risking their all

And I ask that you remember with me
The names of those that fall

I expect that you are proud like me
Of this great nation of ours too

So enjoying all its freedoms like me
Support those upholding them for you

I hope that you are hopeful like me
That we'll soon bring an end to wars

So you'll have to stand no more with me
And mourning families no different from yours

'Til then be thankful you can stand with me
Thinking of those who now cannot

For standing here today with me
At least we show they're not forgot 

Kiana: I would like to invite President  Graham to speak to us.

Kiana:  Thank you President Graham. Many young men from Manurewa left their loved ones behind to serve overseas. Many did not return, but are remembered on cenotaphs and memorials in the district. Today, we remember four of them, whose names have been taken from the Auckland War Memorial Museum cenotaph data base. Following this, a group of students will sing the first verse of the hymn Abide With Me. At the conclusion, students are invited to lay wreaths  and flowers at the base of the flag. Please stand:

Hannah: Private Harold Victor Medland

Second World War;  Machine Gun Battalion

Next of kin: Mrs MA Templeton,  his mother,  Selwyn Ave, Manurewa

He was killed in action Western Desert, 25 October, 1942.

Stephen: Rifleman Herbert John McAnnally

World War 1

Occupation before enlistment: fireman

Next of kin: Mrs Jane McAnally, his wife; Manurewa

He was killed in action  at Messines 8 May 1917

Felicity: Sergeant Keith Crofton Shugar

World War 2

 Next of kin: Mrs AM Shugar,  Hill Road, Manurewa

He was killed in action in  Greece on the  17th April 1941, aged 28

Abbie: Private Frank Slade, First World War

Next of kin Mrs F Slade,  his Mother,  in  Manurewa

He was killed in action 3^rd October 1917 Ypres, Belgium 

Choir:

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me

Last Post played by, flag lowered; One minute’s silence

                       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

Assembly:            We will remember them

                                                                       

 Reveille

Kiana: Please join us  as we  sing a medley of songs from the first and second world wars. After that, guests are invited to join us for a cup of tea and refreshments at the back of the hall.