Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders 鈥渨ho served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations鈥� and 鈥渢he contribution and suffering of all those who have served.鈥�

Usually observed on April 25, Anzac Day was originally established to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli against the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Anzac Day is also observed in the Cook Islands, Niue, Pitcairn Islands, and Tonga, and previously also as a national holiday in Papua New Guinea and Samoa. It is also observed in some local communities of Newfoundland.

History

In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies.

The objective was to capture Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which was an ally of Germany during the war. The ANZAC force landed at Gallipoli on April 25, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Army commanded by Mustafa Kemal (later known as Atat眉rk).

What had been planned as a bold strike to knock the Ottomans out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months.

At the end of 1915, the Allied Forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties. The Allied casualties included 21,255 from the United Kingdom, an estimated 10,000 dead soldiers from France, 8,709 from Australia, 2,721 from New Zealand, 1,358 from British India and 40 from Newfoundland.

News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and April 25 quickly became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in the war, a day of remembrance which continues to the present era.

Local events

The HMCS Alberni Museum and Memorial (HAMM) in downtown Courtenay, in association with 19 Wing Comox, is once more host to the Vancouver Island Anzac Day on Saturday, April 22 at noon, to commemorate Anzac Day and to provide Island residents with ties to southern Commonwealth countries a Day of Remembrance.

The event will take place at the officers鈥� mess at CFB Comox and does require advanced registration and free tickets, available only at the museum鈥檚 front desk located at 625 Cliffe Ave. in Courtenay.

Special musical guest Forbidden Jazz will perform for the reception to follow the ceremony.

HAMM will also be host to Anzac Week beginning Tuesday, April 18 at 10:30 a.m. at the museum, with a special memorial fly-by from the Snowbirds. The museum will have special displays and films each day during Anzac Week, as well as tickets for the main event on Saturday.

Special screenings of the film Gallipoli and other ANZAC documentaries will be held all week in the HAMM library.The public is encouraged to participate and welcome to loan the museum items of uniforms, metals, photos and more from their family鈥檚 time in the New Zealand or Australian Forces for special displays to be unveiled at the event on April 22.

Contact the museum director before Anzac Week to participate.

For more information on participating and volunteering for the event, contact Lewis Bartholomew at 250-897-4611 or mrbarth@alberniproject.org

Out-of-Valley ticket requests can be made via the link at www.alberniproject.org or can be reserved through email prior to April 20.