Daily

By simontbradbury

To the National Cathedral for the annual Anzac Day service. The scale of the slaughter during the Gallipoli campaign never ceases to amaze me. Not exactly Churchill's finest hour. This is what Ataturk is supposed to have said (although whether he did or not is now in some doubt):

"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."

Comments New comments are not currently accepted on this journal.