My grandfather, in the British Army, served at Galipoli and witnessed the horrors that have been well documented - and which I discovered more about after living in New Zealand for two years, 20 or so years ago. Particularly moving was the National Army Museum in Waiouru. My poor grandfather, by now a Lt Colonel, commanding the Artillery Garrison at Singapore in WW2, was then captured by the Japanese and spent four years building the Burma Railway, alongside many of your compatriots. Again, unspeakable horrors.
My other grandfather served as Gen Montgomery's Chief of Staff in North Africa and sadly died in 1946 due to illness contracted while serving.
It is so easy to take peace and security for granted - but I will be forever grateful to my forebears and others in the allied forces in WW1 and 2 - and subsequently.
Thank you for everything - and your fine continung analysis of the war in Ukraine!
Thank you. In case of interest to your readers, I append below my Uncle's (also a soldier) narration of my grandfather's experience of Galipoli:
"When the Great War started in 1914 he [my grandfather, Gerald] was posted to the 6th Howitzer Battery at Malta and then, aged just 20, he was attached to the 1st Australian Division and sent to join the ill fated expeditionary force to Gallipoli in June 1915. This was part of a strategy masterminded by Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, to outflank the Germans and help the Czar by removing Turkey from the war. It was conceived as a way of breaking the stalemate that had set in on the Western Front, where the Allies had suffered appalling losses of over 1 million men in the first 3 months of the war in France.
Initially it was planned that the Allied Fleet would force it’s way through the narrows of the Dardanelles and take Constantinople, without the aid of the army. This failed after a bombardment in February 1915, because of the ineptitude of the Admirals, although Turkey was totally unprepared. Then it was decided that a landing would have to be made at Gallipoli, which is a desolate peninsular separating the Aegean from the Bosporus.
At it’s tip is the mythical Hellespont, where Xerxes crossed with his army from Asia to Europe
and Byron swam in the opposite direction.
So the largest amphibious operation prior to D day in 1944 was mounted in great haste and 75,000 British, French and ANZAC troops landed in April 1915. Chaos followed the ill prepared assault over terrible terrain of steep, shrub covered ridges and the unexpected resistance from a handful of Turks stopped the Allies near the beaches, where they dug in. There was a moment when there could have been a breakthrough and complete success, but the opportunity was lost because of incompetent leadership and bad communications. As a result half a million men fought against the same number of Turks on this small part of the Dardanelles coast, half of them becoming casualties. It became a simple exercise in killing, with fighting of extreme ferocity, but great heroism being shown by ordinary soldiers on both sides.
It was a hellish baptism of fire for young men like Gerald, with heat, flies, thirst, trying to survive in chaotic conditions on the steep slopes of the narrow coastal strip under constant fire from the Turks above, living in fear and with the stench of death all around. An incident he mentioned was when he saw a young Australian with a magnificent torso working, stripped to the waist, suddenly a shell burst and a huge hole opened up in his back as a piece of shrapnel passed straight through, killing him instantly. It was a terrible waste of young life.
After 9 bitter months the Allied Command took the decision to evacuate the troops and the disaster was complete, destroying the reputations of Field Marshall Kitchener, his Generals and Churchill among others. In his masterly book "Gallipoli" Alan Moorehead quotes a moving memorial to those that died:- All that remains are the "tombstones in the sunshine where time goes by in an endless dream."
Mick, a fitting tribute on ANZAC Day! And a small history lesson for those in the US. And while the observance originates with Gallipoli, those in the US should never forget Australia’s and New Zealand’s contributions and support against Japan in WW II.
Thanks, Mick, for sharing your thoughtful and apt speech.
In a comment on your podcast "Ukraine’s theory of Victory" I foreshadowed writing about justice and amnesty. Methinks that this is as appropriate to ANZAC Day as to “Ukraine’s theory of Victory”.
*_‘Lest we forget’ _*
It is proper to remember all that has gone before, and to learn such lessons as we can from our experience. But what about amnesty? Are there things best forgotten?
The theory of restorative justice gives at least some answer to these questions. In pursuing restorative justice, we seek to be reconciled to one another and we hope to let go of or to lay aside animosity. It's easy enough to write the preceding sentence, but the putting into practice is often a vast undertaking.
I write as a Ukrainian Catholic priest of forty years standing, as one who hopes and prays for peace and self-determination for Ukraine. I am acutely aware that the Russian Federation (the RosFed) can make financial compensation to those injured and to the heirs of those killed at its behest, but most of them would prefer to have their limbs or their lives rather than any amount of cash. Where is justice for the killed and wounded and their heirs?
Some hold that the perpetrators of great crime, in addition to making such restitution as they are able, must also suffer retributive punishment. For the believer in restorative justice, retributive punishment is futile or even counter-productive. For Restoratives, the object of just law is the uncovering of the truth and the promotion of reconciliation. For Restoratives, just law is medicinal: the physician seeks to heal a wound; she is curious about the cause chiefly insofar as it helps her to heal the wound. The makers of just laws practice preventative medicine: they seek to eliminate the causes of wounds. They are uninterested in punishing knives or knife-bearers.
Now is not the hour for those of us remote from the invasion to lecture the Ukrainians who say that they can never forgive the RosFed and its minions for the atrocities and damages that they perpetrate. We must also remember that the angst and anger of Ukrainians is confounded by betrayal: right up until the all-out invasion in February 2022, the RosFed was saying "Ukrainians are our brothers" and 'We would never invade Ukraine". No one should be surprised if Ukrainians (and Poles, Slovaks, Czechs, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Finns and so on) say that they will never trust another word coming from Putin’s RosFed. Short of some miracle on Red Square, they are right to be cautious.
But I hope that the long-suffering Ukrainian people will be able, ultimately, to put aside or to limit animosity; that they will be able to seek and to experience restorative justice.
The experience of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), appointed in 1995 and chaired by the late Desmond Tutu (St Desmond, as some call him), is salutary. When the RosFed forces have withdrawn and an armistice is established, I hope that those institutions and individuals who admit their wrong-doing will be dealt with by something like the TRC. Restoratives speak of condign punishment, that is, punishment which promotes restored justice and reconciliation. In a perfect world, condign punishment would have the consent of the person or institution punished.
A friend of mine, Fr Michael Lapsley SSM, a New Zealander, a missionary in Southern Africa for many years, worked for the TRC. His personal experience is relevant :— After a police raid in Maseru in 1982 in which forty-two were killed, he moved to Zimbabwe. In 1990, he received a letter bomb. He presumes that the security forces of the South African regime sent it. He lost both hands and the sight in one eye in the blast, and was seriously burnt.
In short article, “Costly Forgiveness: the Bomber and Me”, Michael writes:
I believe one thousand times more in the justice of restoration than the justice of punishment. So often when we say “justice,” we mean punishment or even revenge, but of course there is another kind of justice: the justice of restoring relationships. Perhaps I would drink tea with the letter-bomber and tell him, “Well sir, I have forgiven you, but I still have no hands, only one eye, and my eardrums are damaged. I’ll always need someone to assist me for the rest of my life. Of course you will help pay for that person, not as a condition of forgiveness, but as part of your effort to make reparation and restitution.” … The Greek word the New Testament uses for forgiveness also means “untying a knot.”
I recommend the whole article :—
Lapsley, Michael. “Costly Forgiveness: the Bomber and Me” in _Plough_ 30 September 2014.
Thank you General Ryan for this.
My grandfather, in the British Army, served at Galipoli and witnessed the horrors that have been well documented - and which I discovered more about after living in New Zealand for two years, 20 or so years ago. Particularly moving was the National Army Museum in Waiouru. My poor grandfather, by now a Lt Colonel, commanding the Artillery Garrison at Singapore in WW2, was then captured by the Japanese and spent four years building the Burma Railway, alongside many of your compatriots. Again, unspeakable horrors.
My other grandfather served as Gen Montgomery's Chief of Staff in North Africa and sadly died in 1946 due to illness contracted while serving.
It is so easy to take peace and security for granted - but I will be forever grateful to my forebears and others in the allied forces in WW1 and 2 - and subsequently.
Thank you for everything - and your fine continung analysis of the war in Ukraine!
Best regards, Peter.
Thank you for sharing your story, Peter. Your family has a wonderful record of service to nation.
Thank you. In case of interest to your readers, I append below my Uncle's (also a soldier) narration of my grandfather's experience of Galipoli:
"When the Great War started in 1914 he [my grandfather, Gerald] was posted to the 6th Howitzer Battery at Malta and then, aged just 20, he was attached to the 1st Australian Division and sent to join the ill fated expeditionary force to Gallipoli in June 1915. This was part of a strategy masterminded by Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, to outflank the Germans and help the Czar by removing Turkey from the war. It was conceived as a way of breaking the stalemate that had set in on the Western Front, where the Allies had suffered appalling losses of over 1 million men in the first 3 months of the war in France.
Initially it was planned that the Allied Fleet would force it’s way through the narrows of the Dardanelles and take Constantinople, without the aid of the army. This failed after a bombardment in February 1915, because of the ineptitude of the Admirals, although Turkey was totally unprepared. Then it was decided that a landing would have to be made at Gallipoli, which is a desolate peninsular separating the Aegean from the Bosporus.
At it’s tip is the mythical Hellespont, where Xerxes crossed with his army from Asia to Europe
and Byron swam in the opposite direction.
So the largest amphibious operation prior to D day in 1944 was mounted in great haste and 75,000 British, French and ANZAC troops landed in April 1915. Chaos followed the ill prepared assault over terrible terrain of steep, shrub covered ridges and the unexpected resistance from a handful of Turks stopped the Allies near the beaches, where they dug in. There was a moment when there could have been a breakthrough and complete success, but the opportunity was lost because of incompetent leadership and bad communications. As a result half a million men fought against the same number of Turks on this small part of the Dardanelles coast, half of them becoming casualties. It became a simple exercise in killing, with fighting of extreme ferocity, but great heroism being shown by ordinary soldiers on both sides.
It was a hellish baptism of fire for young men like Gerald, with heat, flies, thirst, trying to survive in chaotic conditions on the steep slopes of the narrow coastal strip under constant fire from the Turks above, living in fear and with the stench of death all around. An incident he mentioned was when he saw a young Australian with a magnificent torso working, stripped to the waist, suddenly a shell burst and a huge hole opened up in his back as a piece of shrapnel passed straight through, killing him instantly. It was a terrible waste of young life.
After 9 bitter months the Allied Command took the decision to evacuate the troops and the disaster was complete, destroying the reputations of Field Marshall Kitchener, his Generals and Churchill among others. In his masterly book "Gallipoli" Alan Moorehead quotes a moving memorial to those that died:- All that remains are the "tombstones in the sunshine where time goes by in an endless dream."
Mick, a fitting tribute on ANZAC Day! And a small history lesson for those in the US. And while the observance originates with Gallipoli, those in the US should never forget Australia’s and New Zealand’s contributions and support against Japan in WW II.
Thanks, Mick, for sharing your thoughtful and apt speech.
In a comment on your podcast "Ukraine’s theory of Victory" I foreshadowed writing about justice and amnesty. Methinks that this is as appropriate to ANZAC Day as to “Ukraine’s theory of Victory”.
*_‘Lest we forget’ _*
It is proper to remember all that has gone before, and to learn such lessons as we can from our experience. But what about amnesty? Are there things best forgotten?
The theory of restorative justice gives at least some answer to these questions. In pursuing restorative justice, we seek to be reconciled to one another and we hope to let go of or to lay aside animosity. It's easy enough to write the preceding sentence, but the putting into practice is often a vast undertaking.
I write as a Ukrainian Catholic priest of forty years standing, as one who hopes and prays for peace and self-determination for Ukraine. I am acutely aware that the Russian Federation (the RosFed) can make financial compensation to those injured and to the heirs of those killed at its behest, but most of them would prefer to have their limbs or their lives rather than any amount of cash. Where is justice for the killed and wounded and their heirs?
Some hold that the perpetrators of great crime, in addition to making such restitution as they are able, must also suffer retributive punishment. For the believer in restorative justice, retributive punishment is futile or even counter-productive. For Restoratives, the object of just law is the uncovering of the truth and the promotion of reconciliation. For Restoratives, just law is medicinal: the physician seeks to heal a wound; she is curious about the cause chiefly insofar as it helps her to heal the wound. The makers of just laws practice preventative medicine: they seek to eliminate the causes of wounds. They are uninterested in punishing knives or knife-bearers.
Now is not the hour for those of us remote from the invasion to lecture the Ukrainians who say that they can never forgive the RosFed and its minions for the atrocities and damages that they perpetrate. We must also remember that the angst and anger of Ukrainians is confounded by betrayal: right up until the all-out invasion in February 2022, the RosFed was saying "Ukrainians are our brothers" and 'We would never invade Ukraine". No one should be surprised if Ukrainians (and Poles, Slovaks, Czechs, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians, Finns and so on) say that they will never trust another word coming from Putin’s RosFed. Short of some miracle on Red Square, they are right to be cautious.
But I hope that the long-suffering Ukrainian people will be able, ultimately, to put aside or to limit animosity; that they will be able to seek and to experience restorative justice.
The experience of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), appointed in 1995 and chaired by the late Desmond Tutu (St Desmond, as some call him), is salutary. When the RosFed forces have withdrawn and an armistice is established, I hope that those institutions and individuals who admit their wrong-doing will be dealt with by something like the TRC. Restoratives speak of condign punishment, that is, punishment which promotes restored justice and reconciliation. In a perfect world, condign punishment would have the consent of the person or institution punished.
A friend of mine, Fr Michael Lapsley SSM, a New Zealander, a missionary in Southern Africa for many years, worked for the TRC. His personal experience is relevant :— After a police raid in Maseru in 1982 in which forty-two were killed, he moved to Zimbabwe. In 1990, he received a letter bomb. He presumes that the security forces of the South African regime sent it. He lost both hands and the sight in one eye in the blast, and was seriously burnt.
In short article, “Costly Forgiveness: the Bomber and Me”, Michael writes:
I believe one thousand times more in the justice of restoration than the justice of punishment. So often when we say “justice,” we mean punishment or even revenge, but of course there is another kind of justice: the justice of restoring relationships. Perhaps I would drink tea with the letter-bomber and tell him, “Well sir, I have forgiven you, but I still have no hands, only one eye, and my eardrums are damaged. I’ll always need someone to assist me for the rest of my life. Of course you will help pay for that person, not as a condition of forgiveness, but as part of your effort to make reparation and restitution.” … The Greek word the New Testament uses for forgiveness also means “untying a knot.”
I recommend the whole article :—
Lapsley, Michael. “Costly Forgiveness: the Bomber and Me” in _Plough_ 30 September 2014.
☼https://www.plough.com/en/topics/justice/peacemaking/costly-forgiveness
or Michael’s longer work :—
Lapsley, M., & Karakashian, S. _Redeeming the Past: My Journey from Freedom Fighter to Healer_. New York: Orbis, 2012. ISBN 978-1-60833-227-4.
Thanks Mick. One of the highlights of my time in DC was attending the dawn ceremony at The Mall. Always perfectly done.
The games of Two-up and shots of Bundaberg rum at the embassy later in the day were a fitting conclusion to the day’s events!
I have a Great Uncle who was in the 2nd Battalion, the AIF. He would of gone ashore in the 2nd or 3rd wave on that day..
He died in Malta from wounds taken at Lone Pine.
Individualism , community minded bloody minded individualism, is the best!