We shall remember them: Anniversary of the battle of Chunuk Bair marked with ceremony

A ceremony took place on Monday morning to mark the anniversary of the Battle for Chunuk Bair. Photo / Ilona Hanne

Sgt Daniel Pemberton of 5/7 Battalion salutes following the wreath-laying ceremony. Photo / Ilona Hanne

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them."

The fourth stanza from Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen was read out during a ceremony to honour the anniversary of the Battle for Chunuk Bair on Monday this week.

Members of 5/7 Battalion, the descendant of Lieutenant Colonel William Malone's Wellington Battalion, attended Monday's ceremony. Photo / Ilona Hanne

Members of 5/7 Battalion, the descendant of Lieutenant Colonel William Malone's Wellington Battalion, were present along with members of No. 48 Squadron Air Cadet unit, representatives of the RSA, Deputy Mayor Alan Jamieson and members of the public.

Lt Col Malone was killed on August 8, 1915, during the Battle for Chunuk Bair, and had spent much of his adult life living and working in Stratford and New Plymouth as a farmer and lawyer. Malone commanded the Wellington Infantry Battalion at Gallipoli and was killed in action shortly after his men seized the heights of Chunuk Bair.

Members of No. 48 Squadron Air Cadet unit were present at the service. Photo / Ilona Hanne

Monday's ceremony took place in front of the Malone Gates in Stratford. These gates, which stand at the entrance to King Edward Park in Stratford, are the largest war memorial to an individual soldier in New Zealand. Built in 1923, the stone war memorial gates and arch acknowledge his outstanding bravery and leadership.

Malone's sacrifice, and that of the many soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Battle for Chunuk Bair, was remembered during the service and marked with a minute's silence during the service.