Field-Marshal Sir William Birdwood, described his return to Anzac in 1936 in a letter to Joseph Lyons, the Australian Prime Minister. This, his first visit since the evacuation, was part of the tour organised by Albert Cordwell and Cecil Clark.
“It was full of Interest, but going through all my old trenches again, and through post after post, it was also so full of vivid memories of the bravest of comrades and the best of friends that at times I felt I really could not get through with it.
“Looking down, too, for the first time, from the Turkish positions, and seeing right into ours, I more than ever marvelled how we held on, or how any of us came back alive.
“The Turkish Commander in Chief, who had been Chief of General Staff to General Liman von Sanders opposite us, came to call.
“I very much wish you could see our cemeteries at Anzac. They are all quite beautiful, all so well sited, very well laid out, and cared for so well. All credit is due to our two ex-airmen, Hughes and Hillingdon, [1] who have been looking after them all these years. It would mean much to many an Australian mother to know how her boy sleeps in such beautiful and now peaceful surroundings.” [2]
[1] Tasman Millington, not Hillingdon.
[2] ‘The Telegraph’ (Brisbane, Queensland), 13th July 1936.
Image: “At sea. May 1936. Captain (Capt) Edward Unwin VC, Admiral of the Fleet (Lord) Sir Roger Keyes and Field Marshal Lord William Riddell Birdwood on board RMS Lancastria en route to Gallipoli and Salonika for wreath laying ceremonies. This was Birdwood’s first return to Gallipoli. Capt Unwin earned his VC for bravery under fire when he left the converted collier River Clyde three times during the ill fated attempted landing at V Beach to facilitate the landing and rescue wounded men lying in shallow water near the beach.” AWM P02768.002.