Anzac tradition lives on in UK

3-year-old Conrad Moore examines the poppy wreath left at London's Cenotaph on Anzac Day by the Royal Air Force. Photo / John Madden

Australians and New Zealanders have carried on an unbroken London tradition, gathering on Anzac Day to pay tribute to the sacrifice of soldiers in battle.

At least 2,000 people were estimated to have attended a dawn service at the Australian War Memorial at Hyde Park Corner in the city centre.

Australian High Commissioner to the UK John Dauth told the crowd the Anzac spirit lived on - from the first commemorations in London in 1916, a year after the troops landed at Gallipoli, to the present day.

"In that great tragedy, the Anzacs showed a sense of mateship, selfless courage, determination ... forging the ideals that have carried through to today's Australian and New Zealand defence forces," Dauth said.

He also highlighted that 2009 marks the 10th anniversary of the INTERFET operation to restore peace in East Timor, involving Australian and New Zealand troops.

"More and more we will be called on, especially in our region, to do as we have done in the past and stand shoulder to shoulder in support of the values which our two countries - and those of our hosts here in the United Kingdom represent," he said.

New Zealand High Commissioner Derek Leask gave a reading at the service.

The Australian and New Zealand war memorials sit diagonally opposite each other and the London dawn service alternates between the two, with wreath-laying ceremonies each year at both.

The Australian war memorial, built in 2003, will be closed shortly for refurbishment.

Gilt lettering on its display naming 24,000 home towns of Australians who served in two world wars has deteriorated and needs to be replaced.

Following the dawn service, a wreath-laying parade and ceremony was to be held at the Cenotaph on Whitehall before a service of commemoration at Westminster Abbey, where 2,500 people were expected to attend.

Among those attending was three-year-old Conrad Moore of St Albans, who took a moment to examine the poppy wreath left at London's Cenotaph by the Royal Air Force.

Conrad's grandfather, Bernard Madden, was with the NZ forces in North Africa and Italy during World War II.

- AAP, agencies