Hundreds attend Gallipoli services

WHEN 16-year-old Len Hall spotted a girl in the crowds gathered to farewell soldiers bound for Egypt in 1915, he plucked an emu plume from his hat and gave it to her.

Not long after, he was firing a machine gun on the Gallipoli peninsula alongside his fellow Anzacs before going on to serve in the Battle of Beersheba in Palestine and in the assault on Damascus.

When he returned to Western Australia in 1918, a woman approached Len among the crowd of diggers taking part in a welcome home march.

“Excuse me, sir, would you like your plume back,” she asked. The simple exchange sparked a romance, with Len later marrying Eunice and raising a family.

THIS HORRENDOUS SACRIFICE WAS MADE IN OUR NAME AND FOR OUR NATION, OUR FREEDOMS, OUR DEMOCRATIC VALUES AND OUR WAY OF LIFE FOREIGN MINISTER JULIE BISHOP

His touching story was recounted by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop at the dawn service on Gallipoli’s shores on Tuesday attended by hundreds of Australians and New Zealanders.

Ms Bishop said soldiers like Len, a West Australian who was one of the last Anzacs when he died aged 101 in 1999, had inspired generations.

“As we gather here this morning we each pay tribute to the men and women of our armed forces who have carried on the Anzac tradition for the past century and more – that spirit of courage, mateship, endurance and sacrifice that has forged our national character and identity,” she said.

“25 April is etched into our calendar as a most sacred national day, not by a government edict or decree, but through the deep understanding of generations of Australians that this horrendous sacrifice was made in our name and for our nation, our freedoms, our democratic values and our way of life.”