[Editor: This article, regarding Anzac Day, was published in The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.), 27 April 1935.]
Homage to Anzacs
More than 33,000 march
Twentieth anniversary
Dawn of a perfect autumn day found more than 11,000 men assembled at the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne, for the first solemn ceremonial of Anzac Day — homage to the memory of fallen comrades. Some of them had been waiting at the Shrine since a little after midnight. At 6 o’clock His Excellency the Governor (Lord Huntingfield) placed a wreath on the Stone of Remembrance. The sounding of the Last Post was followed after a brief silence by the Reveille, and the simple but impressive ceremony in commemoration of the landing 20 years ago ended.
From even the remotest country districts of the State, more than 15,000 men reached Melbourne by special trains in order to join their former comrades in the march past the Cenotaph that proved to be the most memorable in the history of the ceremonial procession. It is estimated that in all more than 33,000 returned soldiers assembled at Prince’s Bridge, whence they moved through the thronged streets, 10 abreast, past Parliament House to the Exhibition Building.
The assembly at Prince’s Bridge was marshalled by Colonel W. H. Gatcliff, who succeeded in this duty Colonel H. O. Caddy, who died recently, and whose charger followed the column. The head of the procession moved off shortly after 1.30 p.m., and was preceded by the mounted police and the Returned Soldiers’ League Band. The mounted staff unit that followed included Major-General Sir Thomas Blamey, Lieut.-Colonel E. M. Williams, Lieut.-Colonel W. Smith, and Captain Rex Hall. Then came General Sir Harry Chauvel, the leader of the march, and the Desert Mounted Corps. The headquarters’ staff unit was followed by former naval men, who were more numerous than in any other procession. Behind these came the blind soldiers, and the main body, which took two hours to pass the Cenotaph. The silent throng on the steps of Parliament House included Lord Huntingfield. The only woman in the official enclosure was Miss Grace Wilson, matron in chief of the Australian Forces.
Two sudden deaths
Two former soldiers died on Anzac Day. James Oppy, M.M., of Maryborough (V.), who was a member of the 5th Battalion, died on his way to join the march. The second former soldier to die collapsed after having completed the march. The name on his medals was Private C. J. M. Perkins, 24th Battalion.
Parade in Sydney
Nearly 50,000 returned men took part in the Anzac Day parade in Sydney, and it is estimated that 250,000 people witnessed the march.
Source:
The Australasian (Melbourne, Vic.), 27 April 1935, p. 10 (Metropolitan Edition)
Editor’s notes:
charger = a large strong horse which has been trained for use in battle; chargers were ridden by knights during the Middle Ages, and were later used by cavalry units
Last Post = a musical tune played (usually with a bugle) in a military facility, or at a military-related ceremony, in countries of the British Commonwealth; historically, bugle calls were played during an officer’s inspection of posts in Army encampments, and when the final (or last) post had been inspected, the Last Post tune was played, and therefore signalled that the day’s general duties were over, and that the daytime personnel could retire for the night; later on, the tradition arose of playing the Last Post at military funerals, and at remembrance services
See: 1) “The story of the Last Post”, BBC, 11 November 2015
2) “Last Post”, Wikipedia
M.M. = Military Medal: a medal awarded for “acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire” (originally awarded to soldiers below commissioned rank; the award was utilised by the military forces of the British Commonwealth)
See: “Military Medal”, Wikipedia
Reveille = a musical signal played in the morning to wake up military personnel for the first formation of the day (usually played on a bugle, drum, pipes, or trumpet); the time when the reveille signal is usually played; the military formation called by a reveille signal
V. = an abbreviation of Victoria, Australia (a colony in Australia from 1851, then a state in 1901)
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