''It brings back a lot of memories,'' he said after the conclusion of the service. ''I lost a lot of good friends.''
He said it was an absolute miracle that he survived the war. It included a stint in a German hospital from injuries sustained at El Alamein.
Mr Blaker took part in the night bayonet charge in the epic escape from encircling Germans at Minqar Qaim near Egypt's border with Libya. In June 1942 the New Zealand Division was within hours of destruction by vastly superior enemy forces, with the division escaping its fate by the famous ''breakout''.
He reckons he still has a couple more Anzac Day services in him before he finally calls it a day.
''I still play indoor bowls and cards for the Tauranga Senior Citizens Club. I've been doing that since 1945.''
Mr Anderson said the service brought back memories, some pleasant and some unpleasant. He served as an engineer with the 18th Army Troop Company throughout the North African and Italian campaigns and spasmodically found himself in the thick of it when bullets were flying.
''A small group of five of us were sent here and there on various jobs.''
It included going behind enemy lines to leave canvas bags full of water in sandhills when the infantry broke through. However, he did not reach the objective when his boat used in the outflanking manoeuvre sprang a leak.
He became an expert bridge builder in the push up through Italy, with more bullets ''whizzing around''.
Mr Anderson also did quite a bit of jeep driving, picking up wounded under fire from the Germans.
He shifted to Tauranga in 1957 and currently lived in Judea. He was deputy head of Tauranga Primary School for 20 years and built the bell tower from recycled kauri taken from the original school building.
