ANZAC Day Tribute

So today in New Zealand is the 25th of April, ANZAC day. We use this day to remember and pay tribute to the soldiers who fought in the war to protect our country.

Here in France is where my great great uncle, George Manning Percy, was killed in action on the Somme a hundred years ago. I didn't think that would mean much to me because obviously I never met the man, and I've never been a great fan of history.

But today I got the opportunity to go to the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery in Longueval, which is a memorial site for the New Zealand soldiers who perished here in France in World War 1. It happens to be just a couple of hours away from where I'm staying so we headed over there this morning to pay our respects for ANZAC day. I recorded this video while I was there, to show you all at home what it was like for me. Sorry if the audio is bad, it was windy!

It turned out to be a pretty amazing but emotional experience for me, being at the actual place a war happened, and the actual place where one of my ancestors passed away. I found his name in the booklet at the gate, and wrote my name in the visitors book. I then wandered around the cemetery for a while, looking at all the graves of soldiers, known and unknown. My great great uncle's body was never identified, so he could have actually been there, one of those unnamed tombstones. I know he was around my age when he entered the army and I wonder if he was as excited as me to be going to the other side of the world, and I wonder if he knew that's where he would rest forever more.

I found his name on the wall which read 'Here are recorded the names of officers and men of New Zealand who fell in the Battles of the Somme, September and October 1916 and whose graves are known only to God". I attached a poppy next to his name and said the Ode of Remembrance for him and all the others. I hope this made him and my family proud.

I hope you all have a wonderful ANZAC Day back home in New Zealand - eat some cookies for me! Here are some photos from the day...