Posted on by Cathy

Yesterday was…Anzac Day

Yesterday (April 25th) was Anzac Day
A day that was originally – devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli Campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).

A day that now – commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and “the contribution and suffering of all those who have served.
source

A few years ago a painting of a digger called Bluey caught my eye in an exhibition.
https://cranethie.com/2019/11/06/wordless-wednesday-heroes/

Here’s another that stopped me in my tracks a few weeks ago
Hanging in the entry to Dandenong RSL

This one is of an imaginary very young WW1 digger called Bertie
Highlighting not the heroism but the invisible trauma of war

Bertie – 2014. Artist – Zoe Panagiotopoulos.

First Prize in Anzac Category at Cardinia Grand Art Show 2014.
Zoe Panagiotopoulos’s description below

Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge


Sharing today’s post at Denyse’s weekly link up called Wednesday’s Words & Pics 

22 Replies to “Yesterday was…Anzac Day”

    1. I literally stopped as we were walking by – and felt a large lump in my throat as I studied it. I could almost feel the poor young man’s pain

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    1. Thanks Caro – As that old advert said, I feel better now! War films always seem to be guts and glory never ‘about mental pain and misery

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    1. It’s only as you become more mature you realise how very young most of them actually were. Almost a whole generation (worldwide) lost ….in many ways than one

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  5. What a touching painting, Cathy. My husband was called up and served in Vietnam which changed his life (not always for the better). I’m glad to see that there was an apology to those Vietnam Vets who were treated so badly on their return home. Thanks for your thoughts on ANZAC day. xx

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    1. The Vets were certainly treated with distain when they returned. All my life I’ve been surrounded by ‘armed forces/ military’ in one way or another and was disappointed when we arrived here in 1972 to see the treatment handed out to returning personnel

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  8. There should have been more such depictions of what our young folk (men in those days but men AND women now) suffer in war. It is suffering, NOT glory as the medals and songs would have us brainwashed into believing.

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    1. It wouldn’t have been the ‘done thing’ in those days – be a man! (didn’t matter if you were only 16 and lied about your age).

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  10. I know now, from family stories being shared more, that there was indeed so much grief, stress and trauma suffered by ‘those boys’ from Australia who wanted to go and fight for the King and the Motherland. War, what is it good for? NOTHING.

    Great to see your post in the link up for Wednesday’s Words and Pics. Thank you! Hope to see you next week too. Denyse.

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    1. Seemingly a generation of men who didn’t know what they’d got themselves into. All the bravado in the world was of no use to many of them – and never is for service personnel worldwide

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  11. ANZAC Day is such a sad, moving day…It means so very much…and rightly so…Lest We Forget…

    The painting expresses so many feelings, so many emotions…

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