Reflections on the passing of a WW1 veteran Anzac Day, 2024 This morning I attended the dawn service in Speers Point Park, a short walk from home. There were probably a thousand people there, as the familiar words were said, hymns were sung, and the … Continue reading A soldier’s life
Tag: Fromelles
Anzac Day then and now
The camp at Tel-el-Kebir Australian and New Zealand troops landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 in an ill-fated military operation intended to free the Dardanelles straits from Ottoman (Turkish) control in the First World War. The straits were of strategic importance as the sea … Continue reading Anzac Day then and now
Major Charles John Holdorf (1869-1954)
The following was written by my father, Ian, about his grandfather, Charles John Holdorf, who I mentioned in the previous blog. It outlines Charles's military career. In 1890 he enlisted in the New South Wales Military Forces, and was commissioned in 1896. He had various … Continue reading Major Charles John Holdorf (1869-1954)
The joy and the pain of nationality
Last night I watched the WW1 film, Passchendaele. It is a film about relationships, and the effect that war has on them. Not just that, but it is about family and identity, a film that asks questions about who we are and the decisions we … Continue reading The joy and the pain of nationality
Forgotten tales 