Rare Gallipoli headstone a rallying call for NZDF contingent

Below the name of the soldier and the date of his death, is a simple inscription that brought home to the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) contingent in Gallipoli for Anzac Day commemorations, why they were there.
 
“He did his duty simply, bravely - and in the doing - died.”

For a soldier to have a headstone at all is rare. Of the 2,779 New Zealand soldiers who died during the 1915 campaign in Türkiye, only 260 were ever identified, buried and named on a headstone.

Most of those killed have unknown graves. No headstone to visit, no place to lay a poppy. Their name and their death is noted on a memorial wall alongside hundreds of others.

But they are all remembered. And on Anzac Day every year their service and ultimate sacrifice is honoured at commemorations around New Zealand and the world.

At Gallipoli this week, an NZDF ceremonial contingent again walked in the footsteps of former soldiers on the beaches, valleys, hills, gullies and ridges of the Turkish peninsula. 

They visited the cemeteries, performed haka, sang waiata, stood by the memorials, traced the names of the soldiers with their fingers and said their thanks.

For Contingent Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Conor Yardley, it was the simple inscription on a headstone that reminded the party what the true purpose of their deployment was.

“We use words like honour and service and duty but we don’t typically expect to die in the pursuit of them,” Lieutenant Colonel Yardley said.

“These soldiers travelled halfway around the world for a cause they never really understood and gave their life for it. Our job now is to recognise and honour that sacrifice.”

On Anzac Day itself, the contingent band, vocalist, catafalque party, Māori Cultural Element, flag bearer and site liaison officers, combined to deliver a stirring Dawn Service in front of thousands at the main combined New Zealand and Australian service at Anzac Cove.

They then repeated it at the equally emotional Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial service later in the morning.

Lieutenant Colonel Yardley said the contingent was determined to conduct a commemoration ceremony that would have made the soldiers, and their extended families back home, very proud.

“I believe they achieved exactly that," he said.  

"The contingent comprises personnel from across all three services, Navy, Army and Air Force, and the thing I’ve been most impressed with is the ease and the speed they have gelled together and put on something very special.

"To have been selected for this contingent you had to be ‘best in class’ and I am immensely proud of the way they delivered a quality performance to a huge crowd of appreciative Kiwis, Aussies and Turks.

Lieutenant Colonel Yardley said the Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro and Vice Chief of Defence Force, Rear Admiral Mat Williams, both complimented the professionalism of the ceremony and the NZDF personnel who represented their country so well.

“And just as importantly - so did the members of the public I spoke to.

“On Anzac Day, as they do every year, the NZDF honours all those who served their country, fought and fell,” Lieutenant Colonel Yardley said. 

“Ka maumahara tonu - We will remember them.”