ANZAC Day
Honouring Our Family's Legacy of Service
As ANZAC Day approaches on April 25th, I find myself reflecting on what this day of remembrance means to our family. While many Australians honour the sacrifices made at Gallipoli and beyond, for our family, the ANZAC tradition represents over a century of service.
Note: This image was generated as a respectful tribute to the ANZAC spirit and is not based on any real individual.
Our family bloodline runs through the very story of Australia and New Zealand's military history. In the Great War alone, at least 15 of our relatives answered the call to serve—young blokes from Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom who left behind farms, shops, and schoolrooms to face the unimaginable horror of trench warfare, Gallipoli's steep cliffs, and the muddy fields of the Western Front. There could be more, and I’m sure there are, that I’m not aware of.
Among them was Augustus Campbell, who fell on the second day of the Gallipoli campaign, April 26, 1915. Like so many who perished on those rugged shores, Augustus has no known grave. His name is now etched into the Lone Pine Memorial at Gallipoli—a stark reminder of those who made the ultimate sacrifice but whose final resting places remain unknown.
Then there was my great-grandfather Charles Cripps, who at the age of 61, defied convention and enlisted to serve his country. For three years, he endured the brutal conditions of the Western Front before returning home to Western Australia—one of the lucky ones who lived to tell his story.
But our family's service didn't end with the Armistice of 1918. The call of duty reverberated through subsequent generations as relatives donned uniforms for the WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and most recently, Afghanistan. In each conflict, they carried forward the ANZAC spirit of courage, endurance, and mateship.
World War II brought its own heartbreak when one of our own became a prisoner of war and later perished aboard the Japanese prison ship Rakuyo Maru, torpedoed at sea—a tragic fate shared by many Allied POWs. His story, like so many from that brutal conflict, reminds us of the incredible strength shown by those who served in the most trying circumstances imaginable.
As we stand for the commemorative services this ANZAC Day, the familiar words "Lest We Forget" carry special weight. When the Last Post sounds across memorial parks throughout Australia, we'll remember not just the national narrative but our own family's century-long chapter in it—ordinary people who performed extraordinary acts of courage when duty called.
Their legacy lives on in our family stories, in faded photographs, in medals carefully preserved, and in our commitment to remember their sacrifice with each passing year. I invite you to learn more about Augustus, Charles, and our other family members who served through the links below.
A Journey Through Two Soldiers Letters
The Quiet Call of Edward Augustus Cash
What a legacy! Thank you for sharing your family’s stories. I’m taken with your grandfather who volunteered at 61 - what strength, courage and commitment that must have taken!
Bless the memories of these brave family members.
Thanks for sharing the memories of your ancestors as we approach ANZAC day. Their sacrifice and memory will live on by the sharing of their stories. 25th April is always a significant day in my genealogy calendar as it was the day that my great-grandfather was killed as per to f the ill fated Gallipoli landings.