Lest We Forget

On 25 April, New Zealand pauses to remember the sacrifice made on the other side of the world | By Craig Sisterson | Photos courtesy of the New Zealand Defence Force and The Marlborough Express


This month, thousands of New Zealanders will wake then drowsily get dressed while it’s still dark outside. Their pre-dawn start won’t be to indulge the quintessentially Kiwi pastime of watching some faraway All Blacks game live on TV, but instead to mark something more important, something that defines our nationhood.

As crowds of early-risers, scarlet paper poppies pinned to their chests, gather in the chilly shadow of war memorials throughout the country, a tie between New Zealand’s past and present is strengthened. Parading returned service men and women are met by youthful honour guards and current service people. As hymns are sung, addresses are given and the lone bugler sounds The Last Post, poignant realisations ripple through the watching public: the aging veterans were once similarly young, as were those who never returned.

Two hours later, such scenes will be mirrored in Australia – our sporting rival but military brother in arms. Ninety-four years ago to the day, our nations first fought side by side under the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) banner – our soldiers landing together at dawn on a desolate beach on the Gallipoli peninsula.

As dawn circles the globe, ceremonies remembering those Anzacs, and the many that followed, will begin in diverse locations from Qingdao in China to Jerusalem in Israel, and to cliffs overlooking the very same Turkish beach, now renamed Anzac Cove.

As Anzac morning progresses here in the Top of The South, citizens’ parades will begin in Kaikoura, Motueka and many other places. In those daylight parades, current members of the armed forces, along with youth organisations and massed bands, will join returned service people in marches to war memorials.

At Seymour Square in Blenheim, Brigadier Phil Gibbons, Deputy Chief of Army and a Marlborough Boys’ College old boy, will parade with his father Ivan, a WWII veteran seriously wounded at the Battle of Cassino. Brigadier Gibbons, one of the highest-ranked military personnel in the country, believes it’s extremely important for old veterans such as his father to see the modern military and young New Zealanders come out to celebrate the Anzac traditions.

“That generation went through some very, very bitter experiences that I’m not sure any of us, even to this day, can clearly understand or contemplate,” he says. “I think the public recognition from everybody in the local community on Anzac Day goes an awful long way towards helping those guys deal with some of their very deep emotional wounds.”

The Importance of Anzac Day

Our veterans, both those still living and those who have gone, are rightfully the focus of Anzac Day celebrations both here and around the globe. However, Anzac Day has grown to symbolise much more than the courageous sacrifices made by generations who fought in the two World Wars. Anzac Day is also about the military descendants of those original Anzacs who have served New Zealand and Australia around the globe in the decades since. And it’s also about recognising some of the values that make us who we are as New Zealanders, whether or not we are part of the military.

Anzac Day is “a great way to remember what has gone on before and what we need to be able to do in the future,” says Sergeant David Norgate, a Nelson born-and-raised soldier currently based at Burnham, near Christchurch.

Waimea College old boy Blair Gerritsen, now Commander of the Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Mana, agrees. “Remembering what those who went before us have done… keeping their legacy, and living up to the standards that have been set by previous generations, is extremely important,” he says, noting that the concept of service to the people of New Zealand is particularly important to the modern navy.

Gallipoli is the conflict most associated with Anzac Day – the first battle fought under the Anzac banner. It had such an effect that 25 April was almost immediately made a public holiday (from 1916 onwards) but the commemorations have grown beyond remembering one, albeit legendary, battle. “Although the date commemorates the first landings at Gallipoli, the day now encompasses so much more, including our relationship as a nation with the Australians,” says Captain Alistair Mitchell, another Waimea College old boy.

What happened at Gallipoli helped make New Zealand a very strong country, says Ken McMillan, Base Warrant Officer for Woodbourne Air Force Base near Blenheim.

Modern Military Careers

With conscription, compulsory service and World Wars hopefully a thing of the past, life for service people in the modern military is massively different in many ways from the ordeals faced by the original Anzacs. However, those joining the contemporary New Zealand Army, Royal New Zealand Navy or Royal New Zealand Air Force will find that the ethos and values can still be traced back to our Anzac heritage.

Our soldiers, sailors and airmen are still driven to serve their country, and are still deployed overseas into conflict-packed situations. For some, such as Brigadier Gibbons, joining the military continues a family tradition (his grandfather also served in France during WWI), even if that wasn’t the reason he enlisted back in 1976. “I could further my education, pick up a whole lot of new skills, but above all else, [the Army] offered me a sense of adventure.”

Sergeant Norgate, who fondly recalls playing soccer for Richmond AFC on the fields of Jubilee Park as a youngster, enlisted in the Army in 1997 after leaving Nelson College. With a father who served in the Navy, an uncle who served in Vietnam and relatives who fought in both World Wars, he had “always wanted to be part of such an organisation”. His passion for the Army has grown even stronger during his years in uniform, bolstered by opportunities he’s had to make fantastic friends, travel, learn diverse skills, undertake challenges, teach young soldiers and “to help people, both overseas and in New Zealand”. But it’s particularly the people… the friends.

Likewise in the Navy, says Commander Gerritsen, it’s the friendships made that is the most enjoyable aspect. “I think no matter what generation of servicemen you talk to, the friends you make during your service career last a lifetime. I talk to veterans on Anzac Days and they still talk fondly about the people they served with, both those still with us and those that have passed away.”

Captain Mitchell, whose grandfather fought in the British Army in WWII, joined the New Zealand Army the same year as Sergeant Norgate, but took the officer pathway instead. He ended up heading to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) Academy, combining military training with engineering studies, giving him an early taste of many overseas opportunities. “There are so many interesting things I’ve done, places I’ve been and people I’ve met that I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do elsewhere,” he says.

Modern Anzacs

As Captain Mitchell discovered, there remains a strong connection between the Australian and New Zealand armed forces. “On a global scale, it’s that relationship that remains at the top of our list,” says Brigadier Gibbons. “I think the traditions that have been created because of that [shared] history mean the relationship remains strong and continues to grow… and I would expect that to certainly remain the case for the future.” Although the Australian and New Zealand militaries no longer serve conjointly under an Anzac banner, they often still serve together overseas. And the Anzac name, as well as the values that accompany it, remain well known.

Brigadier Gibbons, who also commanded a New Zealand contingent in Bosnia in 1995, was UN Chief of Operations in East Timor in 2000, helping lead a 7,500-strong force made up from 23 nations, including New Zealand and Australia. Two weeks after he arrived, he attended a combined dawn Anzac Day service at Dili. “It was quite special being on operations with the Australians and participating in the Anzac Day celebrations… very special.”

Warrant Officer McMillan agrees that we retain a special relationship with our trans-Tasman neighbours. Although he’s spent most of the past 17 years at Woodbourne, he was deployed for three months to tents on Henderson airfield in the Solomon Islands in 2003. He also recently spent six months with the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction team in Afghanistan. “When it comes to things military, I think there is a very, very strong relationship there. There’s always that friendly banter but if anything untoward was to happen, you’d be able to rely on [the Australians].”

As a naval officer, Commander Gerritsen spends much of his time at sea, often abroad. Last year he spent Anzac Day at Kranji Cemetery in Singapore. “Almost inevitably, wherever we are for Anzac Day, we’re with the Australians,” he says. “We have a great relationship with the Australian Navy; we work with them a lot. We spend a lot of time in Australia, doing exercises.”

“I think it’s a great thing that Anzac Day is something the two countries can share; both respect the contribution of the other nation,” says Commander Gerritsen, who recalls attending “very moving” Anzac Day commemorations in Canberra in 2004. “The New Zealanders were the first platoon in the march-past, which was in recognition of the role New Zealand played, even though the commemorations were in Australia.”

Although the modern ADF is much larger, it’s well recognised that the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) makes a worthwhile and much-appreciated contribution, says Captain Mitchell, who served in Afghanistan and recently completed a two-year assignment as Troop Commander of the Vanuatu Mobile Force Engineers.

The history-drenched and “very close” relationship is quite unique on a global scale, says Brigadier Gibbons. “I don’t know of a similar relationship between any two other armies.”

The Ongoing Importance of Anzac Values

The Anzac tradition continues not just in the modern relationship between the two militaries, but also in the values entwined into the very ethos of the modern NZDF.

For Sergeant Norgate, who is part Maori, history is incredibly important. “As Ngati Tumatauenga, the traditions of those gone before us provide a platform for what we are doing now and in the future.” The same has held true in the New Zealand Army, where he learned about Anzac heritage during basic training, in which recruits are placed into platoons named after extraordinary soldiers (eg Upham VC Platoon). Captain Mitchell found Anzac heritage similarly entwined throughout initial officer training and beyond. “Most army promotion courses include significant components related to leadership, and [our] heritage and history are the best places to find examples,” he says.

Brigadier Gibbons says “the culture of the New Zealand Army today is certainly based on its ethos and its values, and we derive [them] largely from history”. The ethos is based on a sense of service… of serving honourably and loyally. “Our values are courage, commitment, comradeship and integrity,” he adds, noting that new recruits are taught these values through stories. “The majority of these stories would come from our experiences alongside the Australians, in a number of different conflicts. We consider it to be the foundation of our organisation.”

It’s a similar story in the other branches of the modern military. “Things like courage, comradeship and commitment – they’re the very sort of things the Anzacs epitomised,” says Commander Gerritsen, noting Navy values.

“The NZDF is built on histories and traditions, and a lot of these extend from old days… from the Anzacs,” says Warrant Officer McMillan. “Our first major step forward in getting our name out there was during the Gallipoli conflict. And we’ve built from that. No matter where we go, we’re very well recognised and very well received in the international community.” But our Anzac heritage goes beyond the military and contributes to the essence of our country, he says. “[It’s] very important because it has made New Zealand what it is.”

Commander Gerritsen agrees. “I suppose the thing I’d like people to realise is that on Anzac Day, yes, we remember the events of Gallipoli, but we also remember the generations that have gone since through Vietnam, Korea and various peacekeeping missions around the world. And so it’s very much a living story. It’s part of our heritage. It’s part of our DNA as a nation.”

Lest we forget.

The Anzac Dedication

A universal and distinct part of an Anzac dawn service, which is timed to coincide with the initial landings at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, is the reading of the Anzac Dedication:

At this hour, on this day, ANZAC received its baptism of fire and became one of the immortal names in history. We who are gathered here think of the comrades who went out with us to battle but did not return. We feel them still near us in spirit. We wish to be worthy of their great sacrifice. Let us, therefore, once again dedicate ourselves to the service of the ideals for which they died. As the dawn is even now about to pierce the night, so let their memory inspire us to work for the coming of the new light into the dark places of the world.

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.

Snapshots of New Zealand’s military past and present

• Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during WWI. However, Gallipoli is only one of many conflicts in which Kiwi personnel have bravely served.
• More than 100,000 New Zealand troops and nurses served overseas during WWI, from a population of just over one million. 42% of men of military age served. More than 16,000 were killed and more than 40,000 wounded. New Zealand had the highest casualty rate per capita of any country involved in the war.
• More than 200,000 men and women served in the armed forces at home and overseas during WWII. Almost 12,000 were killed, the highest per capita rate in the Commonwealth.
• Around 1,300 New Zealanders served in Malaysia between 1949 and 1966, providing security against communist guerrillas, then later against Indonesian insurgents.
• Around 5,000 New Zealanders served in the Korean War from 1950-1953, suffering 112 casualties (killed or wounded).
• Almost 4,000 military personnel (volunteers) served in Vietnam between 1964 and 1972. Thirty-seven (36 Army and one RNZAF) were killed and 187 wounded.
• New Zealand has provided support, engineering, observation and peacekeeping forces for many other conflicts over the years, including in Kashmir, Sinai, Bosnia, Somalia, East Timor and Kosovo.
• There are currently just over 14,000 regular, non-regular and civilian personnel in the New Zealand Defence Force. Around 17% of the regular force (24% of the total force) is female.
• There are currently 740 NZDF personnel deployed on 14 peacekeeping missions, UN missions and various defence exercises around the world. Operational deployments include Afghanistan, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Egypt, the Middle East, Sudan, Iraq, South Korea, Antarctica and the Arabian Gulf.