ANZAC Day in Budapest: ceremony at Commonwealth cemetary.

[A4K]

ANZAC day 2012 - part I: The service

Wednesday, April 25th 2012, marked the 97th anniversary of the landing of ANZAC troops on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, and I attended the ANZAC day ceremony at Solymár in Budapest. (ANZAC was the abbreviation for the 'Australia and New Zealand Army Corps', which has since become a general term for Kiwi and Aussie troops.)

The day was very cold, but a small gathering of Aussies, Kiwis, and Consulate officials and representatives turned out for the ceremony at the Commonwealth cemetary established by the British here after the second world war.

First The Bidding was read, then the Prayer of Remembrance, followed by the recitation of 'The Ode', and the words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, read by the Turkish Ambassador:



„Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives;
You are now lying in a friendly country.
Therefore rest in peace.
There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lay side by side here in this country of ours.
You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries,
Wipe away your tears;
Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace.
After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons aswell.”

The Last post was sounded, a two minute silence observed (interrupted by someone’s mobile phone of course), and the Reveille sounded.

10 wreaths were then laid, each carried by two Hungarian soldiers, and escorted by the ambassador or representative of the country involved.
Laying of the wreaths was in the order of Australia, New Zealand, Hungary – Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hungary – Ministry of Defence, Turkey, Pakistan, United Kingdom, France, South Africa and Canada.
The ceremony ended with the reading of Psalm 23:1-6.


To quote ’The Ode’ from Laurence Binyon’s ’For the Fallen’:

’They shall not grow 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’



.................................................. .................................................. ..............................................
Part II. - The cemetary.

The service was held as mentioned at the Comonwealth cemetary, established after World War 2 by the British. It is a small but very beautiful cemetary, kept in immaculate condition by a full time gardener, and is the last repose of the Commonwealth servicemen who lost their lives on or over Hungarian soil, predominantly air crew.
I didn’t take a camera unfortunately, though it was so cold the pictures would have been terrible in any case.

These are the Australian and New Zealand servicemen interned there – look at their ages...
(Family name, First names; Age, Date, Rank and Regiment)

Bardsley, Keith Warren; 22, 13/10/1944, Warrant Officer, RAAF
Boden, John Stuart; 21, 16/04/1944, Flight Sergeant, RAAF
Chesterman, Robert Charles; 34, 22/11/1944, Flight Sergeant, RNZAF
Crawford, Finlay Ewart Munro; 20, 26/06/1944, Flight Sergeant, RAAF
Emmott, Jack Harrison; 20, 22/11/1944, Flight Sergeant, RAAF
Hiskins, Kevin James; 23, 26/06/1944, Warrant Officer, RAAF
Howden, Roy David McAlister; 22, 26/06/1944, Flight Sergeant, RAAF
James, Fred Edmond; 30, 16/04/1944, Warrant Officer, RAAF
Mander, Richard Brandon; 22, 26/06/1944, Warrant Officer, RNZAF
Murray, Terence Desmond; 20, 25/06/1944, Flight Sergeant, RAAF
Palmer, George Arthur; 27, 21/10/1944, Pilot Officer, RAAF
Robertson, Lawrence Geoffrey; 21, 21/10/1944, Warrant Officer, RAAF
Sandman, Donald Ansley; 27, 21/10/1944, Flying Officer, RNZAF
Shearer, Robert Edward Seymour; 23, 25/06/1944, Pilot Officer, RAAF
Sheed, Herbert Moore; 28, 23/11/1944, Flying Officer, RNZAF
Stevens, Norman Albert; 27, 21/10/1944, Pilot Officer, RAAF
Stowell, Frederick George; 24, 8/08/1944, Flying Officer, RNZAF
Sutcliffe, John Henry; 28, 23/11/1944, Flying Officer, RNZAF
Young, Leonard Roy; 22, 22/11/1944, Flight Sergeant, RAAF


I plan to go back with a camera one weekend, and record all the graves. The saddest I saw was one simply marked ’A victim of the 1939-45 war. Known unto God’



To all:

[Airframes]

Great stuff Evan.

[Wurger]

To all ....

[Gnomey]

[Vassili Zaitzev]

I hope you guys don't mind me sharing an article I wrote for the school paper. I hope I got the message of Anzac Day right, apologies for the typos.
Sullivans' Corner: Anzac Day - Entertainment - The Critic - Lyndon State College

[A4K]

Good article mate, you covered it well.
Very sad campaign indeed - in 8 months over 12000 British soldiers, 8700 Aussies and 2721 Kiwis lost their lives , either to the enemy or disease. To put that in perspective for us Kiwis, the NZ population of the time was just over 2 million, a quarter of whom went to fight, many never to return.

[Njaco]

[Wayne Little]

Thanks Evan...