They shall grow not old. As we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

They shall not grow old…”

On April 25 1915, Australian and New Zealand troops landed at Galipoli and spent 8 long months suffering through one of the hardest fought trench warfare battles of the First World War. Every year on the anniversary of this day, we of New Zealand and Australia stop to remember the courage and the almighty sacrifices these men made.

The incursion onto the Galipoli Peninsula was to capture the Dardanelles, the gateway to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. At the end of the campaign, its Turkish defenders still held Gallipoli. More than 120,000 Turks, French, English, New Zealand and Australians lost their lives fighting for that piece of land.

We remember these men who left the peaceful shores of New Zealand and Australia and went to war for their King to defend the freedoms and liberty we cherish so dearly today. We honour the sacrifices they made and the lives that were lost. We stand in awe of their courage. Against insurmountable odds, these men gave everything — including their very lives — in an effort to ensure the freedom of future generations.

The gift and legacy these men and women, soldiers and civilians, left us is the most valuable of any we have ever received. It is our duty to protect it. It is our duty to ensure that those generations that follow us can enjoy this gift as we have been so fortunate to have done.

They shall not grow old.