ANZAC Day began for us with
the alarm sounding at 0350.
Despite the early hour, the kids were up and dressed in no time and we
were in a cab for 0420 heading just down the road to the New Zealand Memorial
at Hyde Park Corner (the Kiwi’s being in charge of the service this year).
Cold
and dark but at least not raining (yet!)
As Zac was charged with reading
one of the Prayers of the Faithful during the service he was whisked away to
stand at the front, Abbey and I took up poll position in an attempt for a good
vantage whilst Nathan stood further back conscious of not blocking anyone’s
view.
The service began with a
Karanga, which is a Maori ceremonial call. I must admit at first I thought the bugle call had gone
terribly wrong but it turns out the Maori’s have something similar to a
didgeridoo. After a very moving
ceremony during which Zac spoke beautifully, the service ended with a Haka,
which definitely woke everyone up.
The
prayer readers (all either Aussies or Kiwis but sharing an English accent!)
The
New Zealand Memorial consists of 16 cross shaped vertical bronze sculptures set
out on the slope. Ten of the
standards are adorned with text, patterns and small sculptures which represent
different aspects of the NZ culture whilst the remaining unadorned standards
make up the Southern Cross constellation (they are lit along the top edge each
night, making a cross shape to light the way home.)
We next wandered across to the nearby Australian
War Memorial for another brief wreath laying ceremony before making our way to
the RAF Club for some much needed and very welcome hot breakfast.
The
Australian Memorial
Dedicated
in 2003, the Memorial Wall is set with 24000 names of the hometowns and
Australian men and women who served during the two World Wars. Superimposed on these place names are
47 battle sites representing some of the major theatres of war where
Australians served.
Near
Wellington Arch
Zac and Abbey were the only
children in attendance at the breakfast and both did us very proud with their
behaviour. Abbey happily chatted
to anyone who would listen about how last year for her birthday she had to go
to the trenches but this year she was going to Hamley’s!
Breakfast
at last!
All too soon, however, we
were back on the streets, in the now teeming rain. Nathan had a briefing to attend at 0845 at New Zealand House
so we planned to go with him and carry on to Trafalgar Square. Zac commented along the way that he
thought umbrellas only blew inside out in the movies! On reaching the Square we said good-bye to Nathan and headed
for the relative comfort of a nearby Prét and ‘second breakfast’. The gentleman who served me did question the idea of eating
sushi at this time of the morning but, as the kids had now been up for five
hours, I was not going to argue with their choice!
We loitered inside as long
as possible with me downing a few hot drinks in order to justify our
presence. This, along with the
relentless rain and cold, lead to the inevitable and we had to set off in
search of the nearest facilities prior to beating a very sodden path, past the
Horse Guards parade ground to the Cenotaph on Whitehall. After briefing catching up with Nathan
again, he disappeared inside to wait for the arrival of HRH The Duke of Kent
whilst we huddled under the umbrella outside. Once again, despite the bleak conditions, the kids were
angels and I received plenty of compliments as we waited.
In
a very wet and empty Trafalgar Square
Waiting
at the Cenotaph
The
memorial was unveiled by King George V on 11 November 1920, the second
anniversary of the Armistice with Germany, which ended the First World War. The unveiling ceremony for the Cenotaph
was part of a larger procession bringing the British Unknown Soldier to be laid
to rest in his tomb located nearby in Westminster Abbey.
The ceremony began around
1100 with the marching on of the Royal Artillery Band and retired and serving
members of the defence forces.
Nathan joined the parade escorting HRH The Duke of Kent alongside both
the High Commissioner for New Zealand, His Excellency Mr Derek Leask, and the
High Commissioner for Australia, His Excellency Mr John Dauth. I will admit to being a bit amused as
they stood in the rain whilst we at least had the use of an umbrella.
Nathan
and The Duke
Following yet another moving
service, the kids and I joined the flow basically swimming our way up the road
to Westminster Abbey. The Abbey
service was a ticketed event and we were pleased to know we had reserved seats
waiting with Zac once again taking the lime light with the task of passing the
wreath to the High Commissioner for laying on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The service took about an
hour but, despite being exhausted, both Zac and Abbey were models for perfect
behaviour. It was a beautiful
service and, I must say, I was really impressed by the fanfare of the resident
trumpeters though felt the pipe organ did drown out the choir just a bit.
When the time came to
present his wreath, Zac took the lead over his young NZ counterpart seated
opposite and carried off his duties with perfection earning a word of thanks
for the High Commissioner. He can
now proudly say his name appears in an Order of Service for Westminster Abbey.
At the conclusion of the
service I once again received compliments on my children’s behavior so was a
very proud mum. I was then a little
bit cheeky taking a couple of photos after the service before it was back out
into the rain.
The
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Zac’s wreath to the right)
Bunny was just pleased to be in out of the rain
An exhausting tube ride back to the hotel
There was no respite for
Nathan and I as we prepared for the next stage of our day, a reception at
Australia House. Our babysitter
arrived on time at 1730 and we were out the door where, thank god, the rain had
ceased. We were not sure how long
it would take us to reach the High Commission and found ourselves alighting at
Temple Station with about half an hour to spare. Desperately needing to just sit down, we ducked into yet
another Walk-a-bout bar for a quick Crown Lager (haven’t seen one of those
since we left Australia). We were
also in the pub when they decided to have their own bugle call and minutes
silence and Nathan was accosted by two Stokers who had just flown in to London
that afternoon.
Enjoying
a little piece of home
The reception at Australia House was a fairly staid
affair but I will admit I was just pleased to look around as it was here that
Gringotts Bank of Harry Potter fame was filmed. Nathan took me up to see the Downer Room and introduced us
to the First Sea Lord (just love that job title) and we pretty much just made
polite conversation for a few hours before we could make our escape and
actually get some dinner.
The
Downer Room
Gringotts
– also known as the Ball Room
We ended up having dinner
just up the road at the Duke of Wellington pub before making our way back to
the hotel and bed!
Very proud of you all. The Downer Room is a bit over the top (suits The Downers)
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