Cheshire East Council is to hold an act of remembrance to mark the centenary of the bloody Gallipoli campaign of the First World War.
Senior representatives of Cheshire East Council will lead civic dignitaries at the ceremony at Congleton War Memorial on Saturday, April 25, at 10.15am. Members of the public are warmly invited to attend.
The poignant event is being held on Anzac Day, in memory of the many thousands of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps troops, as well as British and other Allied servicemen, who died in the doomed campaign on Turkey’s Dardanelles coastline.
The Gallipoli Campaign of April 1915 was championed by then First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill. Its aim was to strike a decisive knockout blow against Germany’s ally, the Ottoman Empire, and hasten the Allies’ victory.
However, the beach-landing assaults quickly ran into difficulties, with troops pinned down on the heavily defended and difficult coastline terrain. The Allies eventually withdrew after eight months of fighting and heavy casualties. About 350,000 troops in total, from both sides, were killed or wounded.
Mike Suarez, chief executive of Cheshire East Council, said: “This will be a solemn occasion when the people of Cheshire East can gather together as a community to remember the fallen of all sides in that terrible campaign in the Great War.
“More than 550,000 Allied troops participated, and this will be an occasion to recognise the sacrifices made by people from so many countries during the campaign, to show our gratitude and respect and to remember the bravery shown on all sides of the conflict.”
The act of remembrance will last about 20 minutes. The event is one of many centenary ceremonies being held as part of the Council’s Cheshire East Reflects programme to commemorate events from the Great War of 1914-18.
For more information about Cheshire East Reflects, visit: http://cheshireeastreflects.com/
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