The past few days of the tour have been spent at various battlefields and memorials around Gallipoli. These few days have been full of emotion for all of us. Going to these places allowed us to finally be able to visit the very places where not only our ANZACs fought and died so bravely, but our own community and family members fought and died.
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One of the places that touched me most was The Nek and Walkers Ridge. Walking in the remains of the original trenches where so many of our brave soldiers fought and died 100 years ago was extremely overwhelming. Standing in one of the trenches I looked out over the surrounding countryside and tried to imagine what it would have looked like back then and how our Diggers did what they actually did.
Another shocking realization occurred when we were walking up a hill to get to Pluggies Plateau, we were getting puffed and tired from walking up the dirt walkway. Our Diggers journeyed up the same hill 100 years ago, some of them even being our age, the didn’t have a path or track to follow, they were fighting for their lives, whilst carrying 20-30kg packs on their backs, rifles and bayonets in their hands and being rained on by bullets, shrapnel and grenades and we were complaining.
The most impacting part of these three days was when I was able to finally visit and pay my respects to my great, great uncle, Sydney Clyde Sawtell who fought and died in Gallipoli. We were given a cross to write a short message on and place on someone grave, thinking of what to write to someone who is so close yet so far away and someone who has given the ultimate sacrifice is such terrifying conditions on such a small space was a really hard thing to do. How can you put into words how grateful you are and what you feel about someone you have never met, but strangely feel so close to? In the end I decided to write Sydney a letter and placed it next to his grave with a poppy, the cross with a short thank-you.
This trip has made the whole World War One story an amazing, and real journey for me. The bonds that we students share and the continual support and encouragement that we give each other helps us all get through challenging and emotional times and helps us understand the value of mate ship that was so important to our diggers 100 years ago.
The past few days have been a mixture of emotion and learning as we toured many grave sites and battlefields along the Gallipoli Peninsula. Being able to view the terrain the ANZACs encountered and listening to the recounts of the attacks caused us to gain a greater knowledge of the selflessness, sacrifice, mateship and courage shown by the diggers. We also came to the ultimate realisation that there was really no glory in war as we mourned over the many lives that were lost.
We explored some trenches and walked through the tough terrain and could not believe how the ANZACs had managed to endure this while under fire, and carrying heavy backpacks.
In pairs, we had previously researched some soldiers from around the Hunter Valley who had either died at the Gallipoli Landing or the days that followed. As we toured the gravesites we gave presentations on these soldiers and were able to personally payout respects to these brave men. It was such an amazing experience to be able to honour these men and to share their stories with the rest of our group as well as the others that listened. It was through this that we joined as a group to support each other, just as the ANZACs had done 100 years ago.
Our group is also grateful to how welcoming the Turkish people have been to us. One hundred years ago we were one of their enemies, yet now we are able to be friends. This has really helped us to also looked at the war from their point of view and realise that while they were our enemy at Gallipoli, the real enemy was the war. We were able to appreciate that while the ANZACs did experience hardship, the Turkish soldiers also suffered greatly.
At dawn tomorrow we will all be standing on the Gallipoli Peninsula, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the landing at ANZAC cove. We are all looking forward to this when we will have the opportunity to once again pay our respects the many soldiers that have fought and died over time, particularly those who died at Gallipoli.
Craig Shafer - Secondary Teacher - PDHPE
Our young students have been brilliant, all worthy representatives of their families, schools and communities. They've created a unique bond with our fellow bus travellers who have appreciated their tributes to our local soldiers at various cemeteries. Often they have joined us at specific grave sites and have comforted our students when they break down.
Here, Scone Grammar student Abby McDonald is comforted by two ladies from our bus who have taken a special interest in the soldier's story which Abby shared at the Lone Pine cemetery.