history – Kiwis Do Fly

A Piece Of Our Fabric

July 2026

“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.”

The Gallipoli Landing, known by the Turkish as the Battle of Canakkale

We started off at Beach cemetery. On the shores of the crystal clear, sparkling water of the Agean Sea. It struck me how like Greece it was. Which is a dumb thing to think as we we are in Turkey, so close to Greece and not all that far from our favourite island of Leros. The terrain is all very similar, rugged and crumbly, in beautiful way.

Our guide pointed out 2 islands in the distance. Only about 30km away was Imbros. In 1915 this was part of Greece and was where the operations of Allied forces was based. General Sir Ian Hamilton ran the campaign from a tent city right there, you can see the island quite clearly. Imbros became part of Turkey in 1923.

I could only just see the other island as a haze on the horizon, Lemnos, a bit further south. This was the ANZAC Base and Hospital. New Zealand and Australian nurses were based there in massive tent hospitals, tending to the wounded who were evacuated from the beaches. There are Commonwealth war cemeteries there. We always think of ANZAC cove and the Gallipoli peninsular as being the main “place” for this campaign. But Imbros and Lemnos were a big part of the picture too. I would like to visit Lemnos one day. I read somewhere the soldiers would say “Imbros, Lemnos and Chaos” funny but tragic really.

Greece offered these islands to the Allies to use as a staging ground for the campaign and the natural deep, sheltered Murdos Harbour, on Lemnos, was where 200 ships gathered before sailing out for the dawn landings on 25^th April 1915.

Standing here at Beach cemetery feels surreal. We saw pictures of how it looked during the landings and days following. We compared the pictures to what we were looking at today. The terrain is the same, the unforgiving slopes and the ridge line is the same. Chunuk Bair is just up there, the “objective”, the highest point between us and the Dardanelles. What the soldiers endured during those months is hard to imagine, standing here on this beautiful, peaceful day.

We followed the road to ANZAC bay, the place where every year on 25^th April there is a ceremony to commemorate the birth of the ANZAC tradition and to honour the fallen. It is not a large place when you see it in the flesh, it looks a lot bigger on TV.

Ari Burnu Cemetery, the original place for ANZAC ceremonies before the annual event got too big

We travelled up the hill towards Lone Pine, stopping at the Monument of Respect. The monument shows a Turkish soldier carrying an Australian soldier back to his trenches.

The sculpture is based on an event where a Turkish soldier, after raising a white flag, carried a wounded Australian officer back to Australian lines. He returned to his own lines and fighting started again.

We were told of the 9 hour truce which happened on 24^th May where both sides put down their guns and were able to collect their dead which were piling up after the failed Turkish assault on 19^th May. It has been told that the soldiers met in this no-mans-land and talked to each other. They shook hands and shared cigarettes. They found their enemies were just men, people just like them, just doing their jobs. This forged a great respect both ways. It was at this point that the Allies started calling the Turkish Soldiers “Johnny Turk” instead of “Abdul”. The Turks took this as a show of great respect….. And then the fighting started again.

Lone Pine is a beautifully kept cemetery. What struck me here was the story of the under aged soldiers. The ones who wanted to go to war but were too young to enlist. They lied about their age. If their parents found out, they could force the army to discharge them, so they also changed their names. This made the record keeping impossible if they were killed in battle. Their true identities were often discovered later through letters, comrades, or grieving families contacting the base records office. So we see some of the headstones have “served as” or “true name” So heart breaking. The youngest to have served was only 14 years and 9 months old when he died.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission keep all the cemeteries in pristine condition

We carried on up the road to the Turkish cemetery and memorial which honours the 57^th Regiment. It was explained how back in the day the Turkish did not have sir names. They were named by their fathers and their birth place. So record keeping was a mission. It was the 57^th Regiment who were ordered by Mustafa Kemal “I don’t order you to attack, I order you to die” And sadly, this happened. The 57^th regiment was completely wiped out. The Turkish army has chosen not to replace it, there has not been a 57^th regiment since.

Monument and cemetery for the Turkish Army 57th Regiment

Right here was the narrowest point between the opposing sides trenches. Only 10 metres separated them. I found this to be incredible. To stand right here, on the no-mans-land, all of 10 metres wide. They were so close to each other. Apparently they could hear each other talking.

The last stop for the day was Chunuk Bair and the New Zealand Memorial. There is still evidence of trenches here and looking out you can see the island of Imbros quite clearly.

The Chunuk Bair Cemetery, New Zealand Memorial

The Wellington Infantry Battalion made it to Chunuk Bair

Looking at the Dardanelles on the other side of the peninsula from the NZ monument at Chunuk Bair

It was right here on this spot where Lieutenant Colonel William Malone, of the Wellington Infantry Battalion, successfully led the ferocious assault to capture Chunuk Bair. And where, tragically, he was killed by friendly fire. Standing here looking down toward the coast, where the troops had to navigate this merciless climb is beyond imaginable.

So many deaths. So much blood spilled on this soil under my feet. I can’t imagine what it could have been like back then, the brutal conditions, the fear they must all have been facing. The sheer exhaustion and frustration; while I stand here on this stunning summer day, without a care in the world. The campaign went on for so long, they put up with the oppressive heat of summer as well and the freezing conditions of winter. Diseases were rife, they were facing extreme conditions, as well as the chance of death by enemy bullets.

The commonwealth War Graves Commission do a wonderful job of keeping all the cemeteries pristine. Our guide told us that you will never see and vandalization or disrespect from the Turkish people. They hold the whole area in the utmost reverence. Every Turkish person will visit the site at least once in their lives. It is a homage for them to pay respects to a huge part of their history. They understand and acknowledge the sacrifice loss from the Allies, as well as their own. They know that life would have been so much different now if they had lost this campaign.

A very emotional, moving day. This is such a huge part of our identity, the failed campaign that earned the respect of the Turks. To hear the stories and be standing in the same place makes it all very real. This beautiful and now tranquil land, so bravely fought over. For us, visiting this sacred ground has put a huge piece of the ANZAC jigsaw into place.

A big thank you to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the people of Canakkale.

And, Thank you for reading our story

Weymouth, United Kingdom, January 2024

After a whirlwind visit to Western Europe to catch up with friends we have made it to England. It has been many, many years since either Chris, or I have been in the UK.

Travelling from Belgium to England was very easy, we have had a few near misses and were not expecting it to have been quite so easy. We took the train to Brussels International Airport, and went straight through passport control and security quickly and efficiently. On arrival at Heathrow, we were both stunned at how easy it was getting through. Back in the day, Heathrow was a nightmare, mega long queues, oodles of questions of your “right to be there”, which infuriated Chris back then, so much so that he was not too keen to be back. New Zealand is part of the British Commonwealth, we are under the same King. 1000’s of New Zealand soldiers lost while fighting in the World Wars alongside Britain, but still multiple questions of our right to enter. But this time? We didn’t talk to one person! It was all automated. We scanned our own passport, picked up our bags and walked straight out. We looked at each other and thought there must be more…. No, all done!

Heading to our first house sit, Weymouth. Weymouth is on the South Coast of England. A train from Heathrow to Bournemouth then a bus to Weymouth. After a couple of hours, we were there.

We had a fabulous evening getting to know our homeowners and their lovely pets, Bonnie (Cockapoo dog) and Maisie and Polly (jet black cats). We have been so lucky with our house sits, we always have amazing people to spend time with, people we would never have normally met. This is far and away the best part of what we do. The next morning, we send them off on their holiday and settle in.

Bonnie

Weymouth is a lovely town, long sweeping beach with bathing beach boxes and cafes dotted most of the way along. It was a 4 km walk from the house into the centre of town. We did this once then got a bus pass and used the busses every day. We had fantastic weather but there had been a lot of rain, so the ground was soddened, lots of mud and puddles.

We took Bonnie on the coastal pathway walk, towards the Smugglers pub. It was 5.5 km and we thought we would head there for a pub lunch. There was so much mud! The path was impassable in places, we had to climb the fence and walk along the farmers paddocks at times just to get through. It was also very slippery and the 1.5 hour walk took us over 2 hours! Bonnie had a wonderful time, at only 2ys old she was very happily running back and forth, trying to hurry us up! By the time we got there the soles of our boots were clogged with sticky mud, mine were leaking through the split in my sole so I had muddy sox. We wondered if we would be allowed inside the pub in this state, but we were, this was obviously not an unusual sight for the people here.

We had a good lunch at this oldie-worldie pub, complete with thatch roof, then headed home. But there was no way I was going to try to traverse all that slippery mud again and was very glad when we decided that we would get the bus home. We headed up to the road to find that the buses were few and far between way out here, so we ended up walking all the way home. Surprisingly enough, we found another pub very close to home and, of course, had to stop. Bonnie by now is feeling a bit tired, and so are we.

On our first walk into town, we came across this monument. We were very surprised to see it. Made us feel very proud. Then I found online that during WW1 120,000 Australia and NZ Army Corps (ANZAC’s) convalesced in Weymouth after being injured at Gallipoli. The existing army camps and mild climate made it an ideal location. Most of the soldiers we repatriated in 1919, but some stayed and married local women. We find history of brave New Zealanders all over the word!

We found a few more pubs and, of course, had fish and chips more than once! We love the ancientness of the old English towns, the low ceilings in the pubs, the quaint narrow streets. It would be so amazing to be transported back in time to see it 500 years ago. It would be fascinating.

We took Bonnie with us on the bus most days, she was so good. We were surprised how dog friendly it is here. Most shops and cafes/pubs allow dogs, they even have doggie treats on the counters – and Bonnie knows it!

We took the bus to the Isle of Portland and walked out to the end of the peninsular to see the lighthouses. Portland Bill lighthouse is an active lighthouse. She was built early 20^th century and took over from the two lighthouses that had been in use since 1716. Looking over the cliffs you can see the desperate need for safe navigation into Portland and Weymouth harbour. The sheer cliffs and rugged coastline is spectacular, but so dangerous to shipping.

Portland Bill Lighthouse
The old Lower Lighthouse

The RNLI has had a lifeboat station here since 1869, and is currently one of the busiest in the country. It was very cool to see the Weymouth Severn Class lifeboat tied up. I was lucky enough to go out on one of her sister ships from the Staithes and Runswick RNLI Station about 15 years ago. It is always interesting for both Chris and I to see these harbour towns and anything to do with maritime search and rescue and boating safety, as we were heavily involved in this back in New Zealand for so long.

But all good things must come to an end and after just 10 days we have to say goodbye. We have loved Weymouth, we are very much looking forward to returning one day.

Tag: history

ANZAC And Gallipoli