ANZAC Day 2014

My family has honoured the ANZACS in Australia,

at dawn services and parades.

In China we always went to the service

at the Australian Consul General's residence.

In England we had our own little service 

at our village memorial.

The service and sacrifice of our ANZACS have made this possible.

This year we found ourselves in Germany, 

the girls were on holiday and my Kiwi

husband took the day off.

We headed to Niederzwehren Cemetery in Kassel

to pay our respects to our fallen.

First World War Commonwealth servicemen who died all over Germany 

were bought together into four permanent cemeteries in 1922-23. 

Niederzwehren Cemetery was one of these and has the plots of 1,796

 soldiers of the Commonwealth  buried or commemorated  there.

Here rest soldiers of

the British Empire who died in Germany

during the Great War 1914-1918

The land which is consecrated by

their graves has been acquired

in perpetuity by agreement with

the German people so that their remains

may be honoured for ever.

This cemetery was constructed by

the governments of

The British Commonwealth of Nations

and its maintenance is in the hands of

British caretakers.

An agreement has been entered into between

the governments of Germany

and of the British Commonwealth of Nations

enabling them to construct in their own way 

and maintain through their own caretakers

the cemeteries in which their dead

of the Great War now rest.

We chose the grave of Private William John Smith to place our flowers. He was born in England, moved to Australia and was a farm labourer before he joined the Australian Army. My paternal Grandfather, John C Smith was also born in England, moved to Australia and was a farmer before he joined the Australian Army. He was in the 11th Battalion and was one of the first to land on the shores of Gallipoli. Unlike William John Smith and so many others, my Grandfather came home. If he hadn't I wouldn't have been laying flowers in Germany with his two great granddaughters 99 years later.

All these young men sacrificed so much

for a better life for us all.

Lest We Forget