Anzac Day

Interesting Wilso I had never heard of this WWI memorial day before.

Each year on the US Memorial Day formerly Armistice Day commemoration the end of WWI in May and on Veterans Day in September we in the US remember. Now I will add Anzac day to my thoughts and the Aussies who have covered our, the US, behinds so many times.

unfortunately in the States the days set aside to honor our military men have been turned into three day shopping weekends.

Here it's for drinking beer and playing two up.

The Anzac Day Tradition [Australian War Memorial]

We celebrate our Rememberance Day on November 11th at 11:00. The same date and time armistice was signed after the great war, WWI.

What does the word Anzac mean?

Now for a song that always leaves me in tears.............

And The Band Played Waltzing Mathilda
Now when I was a young man and I carried my pack
and I lived the free life of the rover
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty out back
I waltzed my Matilda all over.
Then in 1915 my country said "Son
It's time to stop rambling, there's work to be done"
And they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war.

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As the ships pulled away from the quay
And amid all the tears, flag waving and cheers
We sailed off to Galipolli

And how I remember that terrible day
How our blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs to the slaughter.

Johnnie Turk was ready, oh he primed himself well
He rained us with bullets and he showered us with shell
And in five minutes flat we were all blown to hell
nearly blew us all back home to Australia.

But the band played Waltzing Matilda
as we stuck to bury our slain
We burned ours and the Turks buried theirs
and we started all over again

Those who were living just tried to survive
In a mad world of blood death and fire
And for ten weary weeks, I kept myself alive
While around me the corpses piled higher

Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when I awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done and I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go Waltzing Matilda
All round the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs
No more Waltzing Matilda for me.

They collected the crippled, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled in to Circular Key
And I looked at the place where my legs used to be
I thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to Pity

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
as they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
And turned all their faces away

So now every April, I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Renewing their dreams of past glory

I see the old men all tired, stiff and sore
The weary old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But year after year, the numbers get fewer
Some day none will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the billabong
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me.

Wilso, what's the take on Gallipoli there? British blundering caused ANZAC massacre?Or otherwise? My grandfather was there but never remarked on it.

Wilso what is two up?

Great link, thanks

I would like to take the time to thank both Australians and Canadians for their continued friendship with the U.S. They are valuable Allies and I have always recognized their contributions to our Western Culture and their stalwart dedication to liberty and democracy. Sometimes we in the U.S. have had to withstand withering criticism from these quarters but what are friends for? A true friend tells you when you have spinach caught between your teeth or toilet paper stuck to your shoe.

Thanks Again,

Happy Anzac Day!

JM

Lovely tribute Jim and I concur.

Yep. The British generals of the time are considered incompetent butchers who used the Australian and New Zealand forces as "cannon fodder".

Australia
New
Zealand
Army
Corp

How to play two-up
April 25 2003


Two-up is thought to have originated in the early nineteenth century on the Australian goldfields. The game had its hey-day with the diggers stationed in Flanders in the first world war. It remained popular for Australian troops during WWII and is an institution in pubs and clubs on Anzac Day.

* Two-up is legal only on Anzac Day except in Broken Hill, Kalgoorlie and casinos.

* It can be played with either two or three coins.

* In Broken Hill the game can only be played legally at the Musicians' Club and in Kalgoorlie at a designated two-up school.

* The kip is the piece of wood the coins are thrown on.

* The person in charge of the game is called the boxer or ringer.

* A nob is a double headed coin.

* "Come in spinner" is the call for the coins to be tossed.

* The person who looks out for the police in an illegal game is called a cockatoo.

* In the casino version of the game punters cannot place wagers with other players but in the diggers' version they can bet with as many people as they like.

* The object of the game is to spin a pair of heads.

* The spinner must throw heads three times in a row before he/she collects the winnings.

We celebrate Armistice Day as well, but it's not a public holiday as Anzac Day is. Anzac Day is on the 25th April. The day of the landing at Gallipoli.

Cool, Wilso thank you.

The two-up report was fascinating

You'll be out there having a drink and a toss on Sunday, Panzade?
Then holiday on Monday! You could claim Aussie holidays.