Anzac Day commemorated by navies on board last remaining ship of Gallipoli campaign
Members of the Royal Navy and the navies of New Zealand and Australia have gathered on board the last remaining ship from the Gallipoli campaign to mark Anzac Day.
A wreath was laid during the service on board the monitor vessel HMS M.33 – now in dry dock next to HMS Victory at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.
Troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps – shortened to Anzac – were landed on the western shore of the Gallipoli peninsula on 25 April 1915 as part of the failed campaign that lasted into the following year.
Eileen Clegg, from the National Museum of the Royal Navy, which helped organise the service, explained how Anzac Day is the most important day of commemoration in New Zealand and Australia.
"HMS M.33 serves as an excellent symbol of the sacrifice made in Gallipoli and beyond," she said.
"This event allows anyone, serving or not, to honour this sacrifice from those who lived and served thousands of miles away."
The Duke of Edinburgh led the UK's commemoration of Australia and New Zealand's war dead in a poignant Anzac Day service at dawn.
Prince Edward laid a wreath at Hyde Park Corner in London, home to war memorials for both Australia and New Zealand.
Hundreds of Australians, New Zealanders and military personnel looked on as the royal left a tribute of red poppies and white flowers in the early-morning light.
The Royal Family also paid their respects to the fallen on social media, with a post on X showing poppies alongside the flags of both countries and text that read "Lest We Forget".
Later in the day, Edward was to lay an Anzac wreath on behalf of King Charles at the Centopath and attend the annual Gallipoli Association wreath-laying ceremony in the crypt at St Paul's Cathedral.
Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the start of the Gallipoli landings in the First World War and is a national day of remembrance for Australia and New Zealand.
Thousands of Anzac troops died alongside their British allies in the ill-fated 1915 campaign.
Waves of Allied forces launched an amphibious attack on the strategically important Turkish peninsula, vital to controlling the Dardanelles straits and the crucial route to the Black Sea and Russia.
However the plan, which was backed by Winston Churchill who was then first lord of the admiralty, was flawed.
The campaign, which faced a heroic defence by the Ottomans (Turks), led to a stalemate and withdrawal eight months later.
Its legacy is the celebration of the 'Anzac spirit' – courage, endurance, initiative, discipline, and mateship shown by the Antipodean troops.
The first Anzac Day commemorations were held on 25 April 1916 and have gone on to become an important moment for the nations to honour their current armed forces.
Today, the Anzac Day service in London has become an important moment for thousands of New Zealanders and Australians.
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