1915: Evacuation of Gallipoli

April 25, 2020

By AHNZ

On December 20th, 1915, the last men left Anzac Cove in the evacuation of Gallipoli. This postcard (left) was provided by the New Zealand Expeditionary Force to the troops to send home. Apart from season’s greetings, it also serves as a faint to the ‘enemy’ that the Anzac invaders would stand their ground.

Two young soldiers, Australian and New Zealand, support each other and grip each other’s hands thinking of their homelands far away. In their mind’s eye the Anzacs are gazing over the oceans at their countries from the unfamiliar vantage point of the northern hemisphere looking ‘down.’

War propaganda for the people at home, military strategy to trick the Turk, and a personal message to family at home all rolled up into one leaf of paper.

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Image ref. Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections

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