AFC Activities

What Anzac Day Means to Australians

Thank you to Damien Farrell, Group Business Manager, for this small contribution.

When Britain declared war in 1914 Australia was automatically placed on the side of the Commonwealth. Having only been a federated nation for 13 years the Australian Government committed itself to supporting Britain as it was eager to establish a reputation among the nations of the world. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand infantry forces were deployed to assist a British operation aiming to open the Dardanelles Strait to the allied navies and capture the Turkish capital, Constantinople (now Istanbul), an ally of Germany at the time.

This combined force known as the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula under British command. Landing just before dawn on 25 April 1915 the Anzac force met fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders and the Gallipoli campaign quickly became a stalemate. After 8 months of ferocious and determined fighting, the Anzac forces evacuated. Both sides suffered heavy casualties with over 8,000 Australian soldiers being killed. Although there was no military victory, the Anzac forces displayed great courage, endurance, initiative, discipline, and friendship. Such qualities came to represent the “Anzac spirit” and the 25 of April soon became the day on which Australians remember the sacrifice of those who had died in the Great War. The official Australian war correspondent from Gallipoli, C.W Bean, described the Anzac spirit as follows:

"By dawn on December 20 Anzac had faded into a dim blue line lost amid other hills on the horizon as the ships took their human freight to Imbros, Lemnos and Egypt. But Anzac stood, and still stands, for reckless valour in a good cause, for enterprise, resourcefulness, fidelity, comradeship, and endurance that will never own defeat."

Later in 1924, Bean would promote the notion that Gallipoli was the genesis of true nationhood for both Australia and New Zealand by writing:

“Anzac Day now belongs to the past and during the war all energy was concentrated on the future but the influence of the Gallipoli Campaign upon the national life of Australia and New Zealand has been far too deep to fade… it was on the 25th of April 1915 that the consciousness of nationhood was born.”

Anzac Day has evolved beyond the initial WWI remembrance and now commemorates the contributions of all service personnel, across all armed conflicts up to the present day.

In conjunction with the above from Damien, your AFC are pleased to provide further material from our colleagues in Australia. Please do use the provided link to explore how they commemorated this important day. KBR commemorates ANZAC Day 2024 around Australia (sharepoint.com)

Australian KBR employees commemorated ANZAC Day 2024 with events around the country hosted by our Armed Forces Community (AFC) Employee Resource Group (ERG). KBR veterans and reservists highlighted the significance of Anzac Day and shared firsthand stories about their military service and post-military life.

A special thanks to Declan Lethborg, Jerold (Jerry) Naden, Gerard Bagnar, Nick Tate and Alex Jaeschke who shared their stories as veterans working within our business.

Gratitude and acknowledgment:

Thank you to all the KBR office managers who contributed to the success of the Anzac Day events. Your support to those who have served/continue to serve is greatly appreciated.

Lest we Forget.