Hello from Canakkale!
After an early start to the morning, some of us were greeted by our first sighting of rain in a foreign country. Meeting Izzet Yildirium (our tour guide) and boarding the bus for the 8 o’clock ferry, we were extremely annoyed to miss the ferry and have to wait for another hour. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise with Mr Croft deciding to treat us all with Turkish baklava and chocolate éclairs.
After crossing on the ferry, we ambled our way to Brighton Beach, which was the intended landing spot of the ANZAC soldiers. Izzet gave us insights into some of the theories of the botched landing spot, as well as detailed information into the reason why Turkey was brought into the war and their allegiance with the German troops.
Following this, we made our way to the commemorative site of ANZAC Cove (where the ANZAC Day Ceremony was held) for our own private ceremony. As we stood on the mournful beach we reflected on the tragic loss of life our men faced for the sake of their country. We laid the wreath on the water’s edge, near where the Western Australian troops had attacked the beaches. We also managed to take some magnificent photos at the monumental beaches before moving towards Hill 60.
The Hill 60 (not the same as the Belgian Hill 60) Cemetery was found atop a hill 60 feet above sea level (hence the name). To reach the cemetery, we had to climb through thick sticky clay that clung to our feet. Here we saw remains of trenches dug by the Allies. Izzet informed us of the planned attack between the troops at Hill 60 and the Australian capture of Lone Pine. The Australians were to draw troops away to Lone Pine to allow the English forces a clear path to hill 971 to give them higher ground. After exploring the cemetery we trudged back down the hill and boarded the bus to the Shrapnel Gully.
At Shrapnel Gully Cemetery we found Major Quinn’s headstone, which Quinn’s Post is named after. Then the girls and Mr Croft all put their ponchos on for the drizzle that was falling, before climbing up a steep hill to Plugge’s Plateau. The plateau gave us a brilliant view of the peninsula (even with the cloud cover). Halfway up the hill, Mr Croft witnessed a miracle. He was explaining how the soldiers scaled the hill with 60-pound packs and rifles without any stairs and paths when Ashleigh Holmes swore never to complain EVER again. He then quickly snapped a photo as proof of the incident (which Ashleigh is now regretting).
After we all had made it back to level ground, we drove up to Lone Pine. Here we learned of the youngest Australian soldier to die for his country: Private James Martin, aged 14 years 9 months. This shocked all of us deeply, as we couldn’t imagine fighting for our country at our age, let alone 14. Liam Calton read his poem out as we reflected on the lives lost in the battle that was used as a diversion for the English.
After paying our respects, we walked to Johnston’s Jolly and saw Turkish and Australian trenches. Following this we jumped back on the bus and headed up to Quinn’s Post, which was the as far as the Allied troops ever reached on the peninsula. We then walked to the 57th Regiment memorial, which was Mustapha Kemal Attaturk’s regiment. Then we bussed to The Nek memorial. The Nek was one of the most moving battles of the whole campaign with 400 unidentified bodies in a mass grave.
We then walked to a viewpoint near the Sphinx and looked out onto the whole of ANZAC Cove. The panoramic views showed the harsh reality the ANZACs had to face in order to conquer the impossible. After travelling on and off for eleven hours we finally made it back to Canakkale. We walked to a nearby restaurant which provided an excellent meal for everyone. We all retired early for a long bus ride tomorrow to Istanbul.
Ryan & Ashleigh H
