Today, April 25th, is the 110th anniversary of Anzac Day—a day of remembrance for the immense loss of life during the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign of World War One.
We mark this day in the Western Necropolis Cemetery, at the graves of those whose lives were lost on those distant shores, but who were eventually laid to rest in Commonwealth War Graves here in Maryhill.
A simple sermon by the graveside of Australian and New Zealand casualties, delivered with compassion by Reverend Mark Johnstone, was followed by the haunting and emotive strains of the Last Post, a piper’s lament, and then—as dawn broke—the bugler sounded Reveille.
White crosses, each bearing a soldier’s name, were placed on graves by family members, while military personnel and Council dignitaries laid poppy wreaths in a simple act of commemoration—lest we forget them indeed.
In these turbulent and unsettling times, perhaps we should also take to heart the poignant words of the Kohima Epitaph, often spoken at remembrance services and inscribed on veterans’ memorials and monuments throughout the world:
“When you go home,
Tell them of us and say;
For your tomorrow,
We gave our today.”
Today, we remember and honour our war dead—in the hope that future conflicts can be avoided.
Glasgow Crematorium.