Navies commemorate Anzac Day on last remaining ship of Gallipoli campaign in Portsmouth

250424 ANZAC DAY PORTSMOUTH PA MERIDIAN
The Last Post is played during an Anzac Day service of remembrance on board HMS M.33, the sole-surviving ship from the Gallipoli campaign, at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Credit: PA Images

Members of the Royal Navy and the navies of New Zealand and Australia have gathered on board the last remaining ship from the Gallipoli campaign to mark Anzac Day.

A wreath was laid during the service on board the monitor vessel HMS M.33 which is in dry dock next to HMS Victory at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

The service was led by Royal Navy Chaplain Ralph Barber and was accompanied by two buglers from the Royal Marines School of Music performing the Reveille.

Troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps – shortened to Anzac – were landed on the western shore of the Gallipoli peninsula on April 25 1915 as part of the failed campaign that lasted into 1916.

Members of the Royal Navy remove their caps during the Anzac Day service of remembrance on board HMS M.33. Credit: PA Images

Waves of Allied forces launched an amphibious attack on the strategically important Turkish peninsula, vital to controlling the Dardanelles straits and the crucial route to the Black Sea and Russia.

However, the plan backed by Winston Churchill, then first lord of the admiralty, was flawed, and the campaign, which faced a heroic defence by the Turks, led to a stalemate and withdrawal eight months later.

Its legacy is the celebration of the “Anzac spirit”, courage, endurance, initiative, discipline, and mateship shown by the Antipodean troops.

A member of the Royal Marines holds their cap and an order of service. Credit: PA Images

Eileen Clegg, from the National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) which helped organise the service, said: “Anzac Day is the most important day of commemoration in New Zealand and Australia, and HMS M.33 serves as an excellent symbol of the sacrifice made in Gallipoli and beyond.

“This event allows anyone, serving or not, to honour this sacrifice from those who lived and served thousands of miles away.”

An NMRN spokeswoman said: “Anzac Day, which takes places annually on April 25, was originally commemorated to honour those from New Zealand and Australia who lost their lives in the Gallipoli campaign during the First World War.

“HMS M.33 supported the landings at Gallipoli in 1915, and is the only surviving ship from the campaign.”

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