From Wikipedia:

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who died and served in military operations for their countries. Anzac Day is also observed in the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tonga.

Whether you live here or are a visitor, it’s impossible not to know about this commemorative day in honour of the New Zealand and Australian men and women who served in WWI and WWII. It happens tomorrow and, as on Remembrace Day in Canada, will be observed with various cenotaph ceremonies. Store will not open until noon.

One of the best souvenir finds so far was a book on ANZAC I found in Franz Josef. It’s a fascinating history of the servicemen and contains several folders with replicas of milary documents, correspondence, notes etc. For those who aren’t familiar,  Austalia, New Zealand and other ‘colonials’ — including Canadians — fought under the flag of Britain during the world wars.

To be truthful, the colonial troops were mainly deloyed on nearly suidical missions crafted by hare-brained, half-mad British generals. One of these miserable adventures took place in Gallipoli, in Turkey. The campaign was the first major battle undertaken by  ANZAC and is often considered to mark the birth of national consciousness in both of these countries. Shocking conditions, even by trench warfare standards, a dysentry epidemic among the troops, unspeakable heat and purely lunatic military planning were the perfect storm for creating one of the most ugly, costly and embarrassing defeats in military history.

On NZTV Channel One this week, there have been loads of stories leading up to ANZAC day events and today they interviewed a woman who had a collection of patterns for wartime knits. Some of the patterns were for things soldiers might needs, particularly socks and balaclavas (why they’d need these in Turkey – avg temp 44 degrees – is a mystery), in addition to patterns for homey economy that would help war wives stretch their dollars and cloth their families.

Whole pattern books were released to encourage women, and men one supposes, to knit for the front as well as the homefront. One of these is the Khaki Knitting Book. It opens with a simple but moving call to arms for knitters:

Swifty, to and fro,
Let your needles fly!
Be not yours to know
Pause, for tear or sigh

Stitch by stitch they grow
Garments soft and warm
That will keep life’s glow
In some shivering form

Sweater, muffler, sock
For the soldiers’ wear
List to pity’s knock -
For those ‘over there’….

Knitters did not serve on the frontlines, no knitters were bayonetted with double-points or were in danger of losing anything but a few stitches now and then, but knitting provided a vital link between the home and the front-lines. Tangible, touchable, material, knitted goods were evidence of love and care and proof that there was a home and community to return to.

Even today there are many contemporary organizations that knit for men and women in military service.  Go Google it, pick one, and consider knitting your bit too. I can also recommend a few excellent orgs that do this work and I’d be glad to share my picks. Write to me at morganbeaudry (’at’ thingie) gmail (dot) com and I’ll hook you up (no crochet puns intended).