The ANZAC Spirit

[kiwi]

The ANZAC Spirit refers to the national characteristics of Australian and New Zealand soldiers, specifically the qualities those soldiers are believed to show in war. The concept was first derived in the reporting of the Gallipoli landings by Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett and later and much more extensively by Charles Bean. It is regarded as an Australasian legend, although its critics refer to it as a mythology. The ANZAC spirit includes the notion of mateship and cheerful suffering.

Concepts of the ANZAC Spirit
ANZAC Spirit tends to capture the idea of an Australian and New Zealand National Character, forged at Gallipoli. The landing at Anzac Cove is often described as the moment of birth of Australia's nationhood. The British war correspondent Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett provided the first reports of the landing at Anzac Cove by the newly formed Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. His report was published in Australia on 8 May 1915:

They waited neither for orders nor for the boats to reach the beach, but, springing out into the sea, they waded ashore, and, forming some sort of rough line, rushed straight on the flashes of the enemy?s rifles.

In 1915, in response to the reporting of the efforts of the Australian troops, the Australian poet Banjo Paterson wrote "We're All Australians Now", including the verse:

The mettle that a race can show
Is proved with shot and steel,
And now we know what nations know
And feel what nations feel.

Despite the loss of the Battle of Gallipoli, Australian and New Zealand soldiers were reported as having "displayed great courage, endurance, initiative, discipline, and mateship". The stereotype developed that "the ANZAC rejected unnecessary restrictions, possessed a sardonic sense of humour, was contemptuous of danger, and proved himself the equal of anyone on the battlefield."

An Australian concept of the ANZAC Spirit developed in the post-World War I period among returned servicemen, with some opinion of the ANZACs changing from an Edwardian conception of Australia within Empire, to a tolerance of larrikinism.[citation needed] It was particularly popularised by Charles Bean, Australia's official war historian. This development meant an increased tolerance for misbehavior by Australian troops (for example, the so-called "rape of Cairo").

Following Australia's self-defence during the Second World War, the Australian myth of the ANZAC spirit was transformed by conceptions of heroic suffering, particularly in the battlefields of Papua New Guinea and in Japanese controlled POW camps.

During the 1950s and 1960s, due to lack of observance of ANZAC day in general society, the idea of a unique ANZAC spirit began to fade, as the Australian anti-war movement developed into a popular movement opposed to Australia's involvement in the Vietnam war, and there were attempts by women's groups to disrupt the commemoration of ANZAC day during the 1970s and early 1980s. Vietnam veterans, especially those taken in the forced draft, were represented by some in the 1970s as lacking the ANZAC spirit. These disruptions ceased in the early 1980s as the Australian women's movement collapsed. While less positive views of ANZAC mythology remain current in some quarters, they are not the dominant conception of the ANZAC Spirit.

A resurgence in popular commemoration of ANZAC day in the 1980s brought the idea of an ANZAC spirit back into prominence in Australian political discourse. There has been an increase in people, especially youth, attending ANZAC Day dawn services in Australia.

In remembering Australia's war effort, the ANZAC spirit is often called upon. The ANZAC spirit is also said to come through in Australian civilian crises. For example, the Returned and Services League of Australia states:

The spirit of the ANZAC continues today in times of hardship such as cyclones, floods and bush fires. At those times Australians come together to rescue one another, to ease suffering, to provide food and shelter, to look after one another, and to let the victims of these disasters know they are not alone.

New Zealand conceptions of the ANZAC Spirit
New Zealand conceptions of ANZAC spirit differ considerably to Australian ones. In part, New Zealand retained an Edwardian social mores until much later, and did not place larrikinism at the centre of the myth of the soldier. In part, New Zealand's experience in the Second World War was much more strongly influenced by the involvement of New Zealand soldiers in the European theatre of the war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANZAC_spirit

[kiwi]

"An Australian Light Horseman collecting anemones near Belah in Palestine". Picture: Frank Hurley, 1918 (AWM P03631.046)

[kiwi]

Squadrons of the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade in formation at Gaza Picture: Frank Hurley, February 1918 (AWM P03631.008)

[kiwi]

Australians of the Imperial Camel Corps form up at Rafa, Egypt. Picture: Frank Hurley, 26 January 1918 (AWM P03631.007)

[kiwi]

The 3rd Australian Light Horse Regiment machinegun in action at Khurbetha-Ibn, Palestine. Picture: Frank Hurley, New Year's Eve 1917 (AWM P03631.087)

[kiwi]

The 2nd Australian Light Horse Regiment behind the front line barricades at Nalin in Palestine, one man passing across a grenade. Picture: Frank Hurley, January 17, 1918 (AWM P03631.098)

[kiwi]

Official photograph at Gallipoli taken in early 1919 for The Australian Historical Mission showing a landing barge, wire and entrenchments. Picture: George Hubert Wilkins (AWM P03631.230)

[kiwi]

A thigh bone and other skeletal remains near the Turkish war memorial at the Nek are a grim reminder of the fighting in this photo taken February/March 1919. Picture: George Hubert Wilkins (AWM P03631.228)

[kiwi]

Four camel ambulances attached to the Imperial Camel Corps at Rafa - used as a base for the attack on Gaza. Picture: Frank Hurley, 1918 (AWM P03631.002)

[kiwi]

Stretcher bearers of the 13th Field Ambulance resting at a dressing station on Westhoek Ridge on the Western Front. Picture: Frank Hurley, October 1917 (AWM P03631.176)

[kiwi]

Soldiers, mules and carts stopped on a street in the ruined village of Voormezeele on the Western Front in Belgium. Picture Frank Hurley, August 1917 (AWM P03631.182)

[Observer_1938]

An Anzac Soldier--he landed on April 25, 1915



Private 1046. Roy Victor Dransfield. A Coy. 2nd Batt 1st Inf Bgde A.I.F.
 
My first cousin (twice removed)

[Observer_1938]

A memorial to the Australian Light Horse at Tamworth in New South Wales.

[Observer_1938]

These photographs not only commemorate the Light Horse,but also show the bond between horse and rider and the sad fact that all but one horse was left overseas.

[Observer_1938]

A photograph of A School Cadet Unit taken in 1898 in the Maitland area near Newcastle New South Wales many,or indeed all of these young lads would have served in WW1  --A very young Ray Victor Dransfield is shown in the photo in the second row from the bottom;fourth from the right.

[Observer_1938]

This is a first cousin to Roy Victor Dransfield..he is not related to me by blood,but only as a "Step Relative" via widowed Gt.Gt. Grandparents who remarried with their respective offspring



His citation for valour may be read through the Australian War Memorial website or directly through "Google"

[Observer_1938]

This shows the three Dransfield brothers 



On the left is Reuben Argyle, then Roy Victor and Henry Walter.

[Observer_1938]

Henry Walter Dransfield in earlier days.

[Observer_1938]

Roy Victor Dransfield--happier days.

[sniper]

Obs,
 as you know all ASCO canteens were named after VC winners

.....I have had many a beer at the Jefferies Club located at the Infantry Centre Singleton

...better known as the Grunt Factory.

[Observer_1938]

THE FINAL CHAPTER

Roy Victor was wounded by shellfire (hip) on August 8,1915 (The Battle of Lone Pine) he was evacuated to
England and spent 43 days in hospital recovering.After leave he rejoined his unit (Now in France) in March/April 1916.
While on the Somme he was again wounded by shellfire (this time fatally). He was buried by his mates in the vicinity of Pozieres;and the grave location marked.  Subsequent heavy shelling destroyed the area and his remains (Like thousands of others) could not be recovered.

The photograph below shows where he is remembered.

During Roy's posting to France he wrote a post-card to his future sister-in-law which reads "Dear Beatrice,I used to think I would not be blessed with the love of any girl while in the Army,while so far from the girls at home. But while in England I fell in love with a pure sweet country lassie who is a Christian,so I am blessed indeed, our lives should be happy if I am spared.
............Love to Reub and yourself.............   Roy was killed six weeks later

"LEST WE FORGET" 

[Mrs Scrote]

Fantastic pics Kiwi & Obs.

[sniper]

  The Band Played Waltzing Matilda 

  When I was a young man I carried me pack
And I lived the free life of the rover
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in 1915 my country said: Son,
It's time to stop rambling, there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
When the ship pulled away from the quay
And amid all the tears, flag waving and cheers
We sailed off for Gallipoli

It well I remember that terrible day
When our blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell they call Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk, he was ready, he primed himself well
He rained us with bullets, and he showered us with shell
And in five minutes flat, we were all blown to hell
He nearly blew us back home to Australia

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
When we stopped to bury our slain
Well we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then it started all over again

Oh those that were living just tried to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
While around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when I awoke in me hospital bed
And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
I never knew there was worse things than dying

Oh no more I'll go Waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

They collected the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind and the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thank Christ there was no one there waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity

And the Band played Waltzing Matilda
When they carried us down the gangway
Oh nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
Then they turned all their faces away

Now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Renewing their dreams of past glories
I see the old men all tired, stiff and worn
Those weary old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question

And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But year after year, their numbers get fewer
Someday, no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the billabong
So who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me? 


  Eric Bogle 

With a special thanks to Obs

[Husar]

Beautiful Thread.

Beautiful Pictures.

Beautiful Spirit.

[sniper]

Thanks mate