During the civil ceremony for Anzac Day in Stratford, the head boy and head girl of Stratford High School were invited to give a speech.
The Stratford Press is delighted to publish the speech by head boy Duncan Sheed in this edition, with the speech by head girl Ella Hussey printed last week.
On the 25th of April 1915, the first of 16,000 Anzac soldiers embarked on the adventure of a lifetime.
To travel 17,350km away to new land, and headed overseas to answer the call from the old country. It was going to be an easy victory, be home by Christmas. But this was not the case.
When they landed at Anzac Cove, 16,000 New Zealand and Australian soldiers landed into a world of misery. For many of them this was the first time they had experienced combat.
The heat, the stench, the smell of fear and death would have been overwhelming, but they stepped up and showed the courage and bravery that our men are famous for. That night 2000 had either been killed or wounded. They ranged in age from their 30s and 40s down to the 14-year-olds.
I am 17 years old, and I can't even begin to understand the amount of strength and courage this would have taken to face battle in the name of freedom. To leave their whole life behind, their friends, family, partners.
My great-aunty was one of the women that saw her fiancé go to war to serve, to fight, and give the ultimate sacrifice. He was killed in action serving at Gallipoli. She never loved again and was unmarried till she passed at the age of 93.
Ultimately, the Allies cut their losses and by early January 1916 all troops had been evacuated from Gallipoli. Two thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine New Zealanders died. On the cenotaph beside me are a list of the names of the men that volunteered from Stratford. They are our own and will never be forgotten. We will remember them.