"Lest we forget." Photo / Paul Taylor
A member of the royal family has paid tribute to the Australian and New Zealand soldiers “who made the ultimate sacrifice” on social media for Anzac Day.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, posted to Instagram today, with photos of William bowing his head in respect of the troops at a dawn service.
“Remembering Australian and New Zealand soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice,” the caption read.
“Lest we forget.”
As he joined thousands of Australians, New Zealanders and military personnel at the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner, Prince William laid a wreath of red poppies and white flowers.
The message on the wreath read: “In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.”
During the service, New Zealand High Commissioner Phil Goff also laid wreaths, along with his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith.
Although it seems King Charles III and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, didn’t attend a dawn service themselves, they still paid social media tributes, sharing a series of photos on Twitter of them attending various Anzac Day services over the years.
“This Anzac Day, we pay tribute to all the men and women in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, who served and died in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations,” the tweet read.
Today, the national anniversary of the landing of Australian and New Zealand soldiers – the Anzacs – on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915 was marked in services from first light on a cold autumn morning across the country.
Military veterans, serving personnel and the public gathered across New Zealand today at dawn services to commemorate Anzac Day.
Thousands of people gathered at the central Auckland Anzac Dawn Service at the Auckland Domain.
The parade began at 5.50am with the march by war veterans on to the Cenotaph in front of the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
The dawn service began at 6am at the Court of Honour.
A number of community services took place in suburbs across the city throughout the morning.
Members of the National Youth Choir were assisted by paramedics at the Anzac Day National Service as the sun beamed down on Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington.
The surprisingly sunny day in Wellington proved too much for some participants of the Anzac Day National Service.
Paramedics tended to a number of members of the youth choir who appeared to be overcome by the heat.
The New Zealand Defence Force said personnel would be marking Anzac Day both at home and abroad, paying tribute to those who have gone before and thanking those still making huge efforts for a better world.
Acting Chief of Defence Force Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies, who is taking part in the Dawn Service and National Commemoration at Pukeahu National War Memorial in Wellington, said Anzac Day was a time to reflect on the past, while also thinking about those currently serving.
“Although Anzac Day has its origin in World War I, we now remember the service and sacrifice of all personnel who have served in New Zealand’s interests, as well as the sacrifices made by their whānau.
“World War I was widely seen in New Zealand and elsewhere as the ‘war to end all wars’. But as we all know, it was not, and our world is still ravaged, in Ukraine and elsewhere, by war and conflict.
“Today, let us all think about the continuing need to stand up to those who have no regard for human rights or international law. We should also consider what we can all do in the ongoing struggle for a better, peaceful world.”
He said a number of NZDF personnel were overseas for Anzac Day this year, including a contingent in Gallipoli and those on active service connected to global flashpoints.
The contingent deployed to the UK to train Ukrainian soldiers would congregate during a training exercise to conduct an Anzac Day dawn service, paying their respects to their forebears, he said.
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