Ian Robertson and Kylie Dennis’ Anzac Day address in full

In the speech Ian offered insight into the Gallipoli landings and Kylie spoke the words of those who were there at the time.

Ian began the address.

“Whenever Winston Churchill fell prey to the bouts of depression that he called the Black Dog, he would dream about Gallipoli and the Dardanelles, of the dead soldiers in the water and on the cliffs,” he said.

“The campaign had been his idea, if it had been successful, it could have changed the course of the war. But it wasn’t successful, and all that was altered were the lives of many Australians, New Zealanders and their allies.

“When war was declared in August 1914, men from around the country lined up at recruiting stations and willingly enlisted. Many believed they could even be home by Christmas.

“They signed up to serve their country, they left their families behind, they honoured their pledge, and for thousands, they gave their lives.

“During a farewell reception at Dimboola in 1914 the new recruits were given the following advice by the recruiting officer who was also the commander of the local militia and Boer War veteran.”

Kylie then took over.

“Now lads, you are leaving your mothers, your fathers, your sweethearts, your sisters and your brothers,” she said.

“On every opportunity that you get, write to them. You will be in the midst of excitement. They will be waiting anxiously and looking for news from you.

“Write loving words to them. They may not see you again, although I hope they will. You may depend upon it that they will hand those letters around among friends and that they will be read with interest.”

Ian continued.

“These men sailed off to the war in the first convoy, Dimboola carpenter George Martindale was among them,” he said.

“Benalla local Alfred Guppy and his commanding officer, Col John Monash, both of 14th battalion sailed soon after.

“Tenty-one-year-old Philip Schuler, a reporter with the Age in Melbourne, also sailed in the first convoy.

“Their destination was unknown but finally, Egypt and then Gallipoli.

“Winston Churchill proposed a strategy to take the Ottoman Empire out of the war, open up supply lines to Russia and protect British interests in the Middle East, this was approved, and the Anzacs fate was sealed.

“Sir Ian Hamilton was selected to lead the expeditionary force to take the Dardanelles.

“He was handed his orders six weeks before the landings took place at Gallipoli.

“On April 24 as the men waited to head to the peninsular, they were read a force order that Hamilton had written.”

Kylie took over.

“Before us lies an adventure unprecedented in modern war,” she said.

“Together with our comrades of the fleet, we are about to force a landing upon an open beach in face of positions which have been vaunted by our enemies to be impregnable.

“The landing will be made good, by the help of god and the navy, the positions will be stormed, and the war bought one step closer to a glorious close.

“Remember, Lord Kitchener said as he bade me farewell, that once you put foot on the Gallipoli Peninsular you must fight the thing through to the finish.

“The whole world will be watching our progress. Let us prove ourselves worthy of the great feat of arms entrusted to us.”

Ian then spoke again.

“That night under a full moon, the flotilla of ships sailed towards Gallipoli with the men sitting in silence, all wondering what fate held in store for them,” he said.

“At the same time Australia’s submarine, the AE2, was breaching the heavily mined straight of the Dardanelle’s and would run amok for several days.

“Phillip Schuler couldn’t go with the troops but reported the landings for his Melbourne readers as he saw them through a telescope and binoculars.

“The battle opened at 4.17am. The racket of rifles reached the ears of the other brigades locked still in the transports, the men jumped from the boats into the icy Aegean, up to their armpits sometimes, their rifles held above their heads. And slowly, facing the stream of lead, waded to the shore.

“Eager to be free of action, they at once dropped their packs and charged. Some Turks were running down the beach to oppose them. These were killed or wounded

“At other places around the northern extremity of the cove the boats were drifting in, and along the broader shore were grounding on the beach, only to be shattered and the whole parties in them, decimated by machine gun.

“Gallipoli raged on for several months, places like Shrapnel Gulley and battles such as The Nek claiming many Anzac lives.

“George Martindale our man from Dimboola, sent a letter home and told his family of one such battle.”

Kylie read the letter.

“How can I describe Lone Pine? I don’t think the great devil himself could,” she said.

“I don’t think anyone can. It wasn’t warfare, it was slaughter. We stood up to it in a hail of bombs and bullets for 3 days and nights.

“Here also were some awful sights to be seen. What, with removing the dead and wounded. The latter, no, I won’t write about.”

Ian continued.

“After many months of fighting, the decision was made to abandon the campaign,” he said.

“The stalemate of the situation, the need to reinforce the western front and the mounting pressure from the people at home over the rising casualty lists forced the politicians and top brass to make the decision.

“Brigadier John Monash was the officer in charge of the withdrawal of the troops from Anzac Cove, it was completed without the loss of one man during the evacuation.

“Monash went on to command the Australian army Corp on the western front, be knighted in the field and become a revered leader and household name.

“Among other lifelong achievements, he built the bridge which stands behind us today.

“Quarter Master, Sergeant A L Guppy, our Benalla local, wrote the following poem reflecting the emotions of leaving Anzac Cove.”

Kylie read the poem.

"Not only muffled is our tread,“ she said.

“To cheat the foe,

“We fear to rouse our honoured dead,

“To hear us go.

“Sleep sound, old friends—the keenest smart

“Which, more than failure, wounds the heart,

“Is thus to leave you—thus to part.

“Comrades, farewell!"

Ian then spoke again.

“The AE2 would be scuttled after becoming badly damaged five days after the landings, the crew remained prisoners for the duration of the war,” he said.

“Phillip Schuller went on to report from the Western Front. He returned to Australia, enlisted in the Army and went back to the war in Belgium where he was mortally wounded and died in June 1917.

“George Martindale survived the war but was badly disfigured by wounds he received in France, he died in his hometown in 1928.

“Alfred Guppy also known as Les, returned to the farm at Goomalibee and passed away in 1965 aged 78 and is buried in the Benalla cemetery.

“My father, a WW2 veteran, didn’t march for many years with the others on this day, but you could tell that he was thinking of his mates from long ago and all the terrors that they had faced together.

“He had written all the men’s names in his diary, included in those names are Eric and George Hooper from Goorambat and Ted Buerckner from Tungamah.

“Each of these men had their own experiences of hell, including surviving the atomic bomb in Japan, being torpedoed while confined in a POW transport ship, some men survived the sinking and were to be saved from the sea by another Japanese ship, the lucky ones were saved by the Americans, who were responsible for the torpedo in the first place.

“The men that perished due to the harsh conditions as POW’S and were buried beside the Thai- Burma railway, also have their names written in pencil and their resting places recorded simply by the camp number and the date. Dad knew these would be important one day.

“He kept this diary and pencil at great personal risk, torture and a probable death sentence if caught out.

“My father carried this little book throughout the war, in its pages he kept a gum leaf, a reminder of home. The diary and the gum leaf are still intact today.

“There’s one group that sailed with the troops to WWI and to all the conflicts since, they deserve a special mention today, the medics and especially our nurses.

“They cared for and tended to the wounded, they were the angels and mothers to the dying men, and they served in many more ways.

“Seven Australian Army nurses were awarded the Military Medal in WWI, 30 of them died in service, one of those nurses is named here on our memorial, Sister Hilda Knox, she died in France aged 33.

“Sister Elsie Eglington wrote to her mother from the Western Front, the letter tells us of the compassion that they have.”

Kylie read that letter.

“This poor boy knew he was dying so he got the doctor to write his will, then said he needed to live till the night nurse came on duty so he could say goodbye. He hung on till 8pm, when I came to the ward,” she said.

“I will always remember his dear bright face as he clasped my hand and said ‘Goodbye’ he lived another 15 minutes, and I stayed beside him till the end.”

Ian then spoke again.

“Churchill wrote of the nurses.

“While men fight each other, women tend the wounded, and there can be no doubt at all that theirs is the nobler part.

“Australian soldier, 17-year-old Bill Young, was chained to a heavy cable after being captured with other Australians by the Japanese.

“The group were forced to sit in silence during the night, Bill suddenly became very homesick, he reflected on this moment when interviewed many years later.

“His words are something that we should all remember as we look towards the future.

“And I quote.

“I realised that being an Aussie was different than anything else

“I had taken for granted my countries freedoms, it’s wide-open spaces, it’s give and take.

“The way it shapes the character of its people, giving them a rugged individuality and a sense of a fair go.

“Never again would I take those essential freedom loving qualities for granted.

“Thank you.

“Lest we forget.”