ANZAC DAY DAWN SERVICE NAIROBI 2016

"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."

ANZAC Day is a pretty big day for Australians.

I am a very patriotic person, I tear up when Australian athletes win, I love hearing the national anthem, anything I see in Kenya on or about Australia my heart swells a little with pride and home sickness.  I am Australian and I am a proud Australian.  In saying that, I am calling Kenya home, it is my new country and I look forward to growing with and learning more about my new adopted land.  I will eventually become Kenyan-Australian and will be proud to call myself this even more.  I had never attended an ANZAC dawn service before.  Ever.  Not here in Nairobi OR Australia, which is a little strange as my mum was in the Navy in her early days and in the Army Reserves in her later years, my Dad was in the Navy for 25 years and my stepmother was also in the Navy.  But it is never too late to attend and there is something about being away from home that makes you that much more patriotic.  I was also able to introduce Eric into an Australian tradition and so we decided to travel to the Nairobi War Cemetery for the 2016 Anzac Dawn Service. 

What is ANZAC Day?

ANZAC Day – 25 April – is one of Australia’s most important national occasions. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.  So what does ANZAC stand for?  ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as Anzacs, and the pride they took in that name endures to this day.  When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federated nation for only 13 years, and the new federal government was eager to establish its reputation among the nations of the world. When Britain declared war in August 1914 Australia was automatically placed on the side of the Commonwealth. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The ultimate objective was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, and an ally of Germany.

When you go home, tell them of us and say

“For their tomorrow, we gave our today”.

The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated from the peninsula, with both sides having suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. More than 8,000 Australian soldiers had been killed. The Gallipoli campaign had a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who died in the war.  Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign left us all a powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as the “Anzac legend” became an important part of the identity of both nations, shaping the ways they viewed both their past and their future.  In 1916, Anzac Day was held on 25 April for the first time. It was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia, a march through London, and a sports day in the Australian camp in Egypt.  During the 1920s Anzac Day became established as a national day of commemoration for the more than 60,000 Australians who had died during the war. In 1927, for the first time, every state observed some form of public holiday on Anzac Day.  People always ask why have a dawn service?  Why so early?  It is often suggested that the Dawn Service observed on Anzac Day has its origins in a military routine still followed by the Australian Army. The half-light of dawn was one of the times most favored for launching an attack. Soldiers in defensive positions were woken in the dark before dawn, so by the time first light crept across the battlefield they were awake, alert, and manning their weapons; this is still known as the “stand-to”. As dusk is equally favorable for battle, the stand-to was repeated at sunset.

It is always a 6am service, so the Mugo’s were up at 4.30am and on the road by 5.15am, getting there just as the service started.  We live in the ‘other side’ of town to the War Cemetery, and it had started to rain on our way there.  Luckily we were prepared and had umbrellas with.  When we arrived there was a lot of security around, I guess there were some important diplomats attending and after the car was checked by a sniffer dog, driving past armed security walking the perimeter, we found a park and walked a distance to the entrance.  This was my second ANZAC Day that I had attended in Nairobi, so felt like I knew what I was doing and where to go.  The Nairobi War Cemetery was an amazing tranquil place and you could almost forget that you were even in Kenya, the lawns were beautifully manicured, the birds were chirping and the tombstones were immaculately kept.  The war cemetery was opened in 1941 by the military authorities. Besides the original burials, numerous graves were transferred to this cemetery from African civil cemeteries and temporary army burial grounds at Garissa, Gelib, Kinangop, Marsabit, Mega and other inaccessible places, so that it is now the largest war cemetery in East Africa.  The Nairobi War Cemetery now contains over 2,000 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 11 of which are unidentified. There are also 80 non-war burials and one French grave.  The cemetery also contains the Nairobi Memorial which commemorates 477 men of the United Kingdom, South African, and East African Forces who died in the non-operational zones of Kenya whilst in training, or on lines of communication or garrison duty, and whose graves could not be located or are so situated as to be un-maintainable.

When we arrived we were given a program and a small candle wrapped in a serviette (to stop the wax drip), a sprig of rosemary (which was found growing wild all over the Gallipoli peninsular in 1915), a red plastic poppy (that has become a symbol of war remembrance the world over) and then we found a spot to stand.  There would have been around 200 people that had turned up to commemorate our Australian soldiers.  There seemed to be less people than last year’s service, but it was a Monday morning, so maybe people had to work and the weather was less than desirable.  The Dawn Service started with a welcome and a Call to Commemoration by the Australian High Commissioner, the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey said a few words, the Call to Prayer was said, the hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ was sung by a local children’s choir and another hymn ‘Before the Throne of God Above’.  The rest of the program followed with the wreath laying from Diplomatic, Defence and community representatives (which took a good 25 minutes as around 15 countries paid their respects individually), an ‘Ode of Remembrance’ was read, the Last Post was played, which always gives me a shiver and an emotional feeling, a one minutes silence was recorded, the Reveille, the flag raising of the Kenyan, Australian and New Zealand flag and finally the national anthems of all three countries was played.  It was a wonderful service and I am totally glad and proud that I got up at the crack of dawn, literally, for this experience.  It is an honor to attend an Australian service in Kenya. 

After the ceremony finished, we had a quick look walking around some of the graves, reading the names of these young comrades who fought in wars over the years from all over the world.  We then made our way to where breakfast was being served in a large white marquee that had a few table and chairs and tall cocktail tables.  As were one of the first people in, we were able to get straight to the tea line, to the trays of 5 inch baguettes with fillings of omelet, bacon and cheese or plain egg, wrapped.  There were also trays of finger lamingtons and ANZAC biscuits and it was a great way to finish a great service and a great start to the day, of which I couldn’t stay long as I had to head to work.  I’m always a proud Australian, but when you attend event like these it just makes you want to set your shoulders back, pump out your chest and scream to the world what a wonderful country Australia is.  I can definitely tell you this; I will be back next year, and for many more years after that.  I do just need to remember to bring the bug spray next year, as I was attacked by very LARGE mosquitoes and a few days later, I had a total of 52 mozzie bites on my legs and feet.  Scratch, scratch, scratch, scratch and scratch.    

Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ...

You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country.

Therefore rest in peace.

There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets

 to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ...

You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway 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 as well.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Founder of Modern Turkey