Australia mourns last Gallipoli soldier
Friday, 17 May, 2002

   Australia was in mourning¹ on Friday after the death of a 103-year-old World War I veteran who was the last known survivor of the disastrous 1915 Gallipoli campaign.
   Alec Campbell was one of 50,000 Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac) troops who landed² on Turkey's Gallipoli peninsula in what was one of the darkest episodes of the war for the Allies.

   Of the 8,000 Australian soldiers who died in Gallipoli, 2,000 were killed on the first day - 25 April, which is now known as Anzac Day. For Australians, Gallipoli was a defining moment³ in the fledgling⁴ country's identity, and that is why they are mourning Alec Campbell.
   A father of nine⁵, he died peacefully on Thursday at a nursing home⁶ in Hobart, capital of Australia's island state of Tasmania, with his second wife Kathleen by his bedside.Flags flew at half mast⁷ around Australia on Friday and newspapers devoted⁸ their front pages to Mr Campbell's death. He is to be given a state funeral⁹ with full military honours in Hobart nextFriday.

1 - mourning : deuil
2 - to land : ici débarquer
3 - defining moment : évènement fondateur
4 - a fledg(e)ling : un oisillon; d'ou "a fledgling country" -> une jeune nation
5 - a father of nine : père de neuf enfants
6 - a nursing home : une maison de retraite
7 - flags flew at half mast : les drapeaux étaient en berne ( litt. les drapeaux volaient à mi mat)
8 - to devote to : consacrer à
9 - a state funeral : des funérailles nationales

   Mr Campbell appeared frail¹ but in good health when he led Hobart's Anzac Day march from a car just three weeks ago.
   He had lied about his age to enlist² at 16, and landed on Gallipoli in October 1915. He was evacuated about two months later suffering war wounds and partial paralysis brought on³ by mumps⁴, which affected his right eye for the rest of his life.

'Dangerous work'

   Mr Campbell was finally discharged⁵ as medically unfit⁶ and returned to Australia where he worked on a cattle station⁷ then as a carpenter⁸ before taking an economics degree⁹ and joining the civil service. In recent years he rarely spoke of his time in Gallipoli - often spent carrying water to the front lines.
   "It was very dangerous work," he said. "Every day at least one carrier¹⁰ got hit." He said he had joined up¹¹ because "it was the fashionable¹² thing to do."
   "Once we were there, we didn't expect¹³ to survive, but it didn't play on¹⁴our minds," he said.

   Australia's Prime Minister John Howard told Parliament: "Not only is he the last Australian Anzac, he is also the last known person anywhere in the world who served in that extraordinarily tragic campaign". The last Turkish veteran, Adil Sahin, died in 1998.

source : BBC New

1 - frail : fragile, frêle
2 - to enlist : s'enrôler
3 - to bring on : provoquer, causer
4 - mumps : les oreillons

5 - to discharge : congédier
6 - unfit : inapte
7 - a cattle station : [terme australien] élevage de bétail
8 - carpenter : charpentier
9 - a degree : diplôme universitaire
10 - a carrier : from "to carry"
11 - to join up : s'engager (dans l'armée)
12 - fashionable : à la mode
13 - to expect : prévoir, espérer
14 - to play on : jouer sur ; dans le sens d'influencer.
 

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Anzac Day

Anzac Day is a national public holiday and is considered one of the most solemn days of the year in Australia. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australia as an « independent » nation.

The Gallipoli campaign

The Gallipoli campaign (1915-1916) was the first major battle undertaken¹ by the ANZAC : the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. It is often considered to mark the birth of national consciousness in both of these countries.

The attack on Gallipoli was one of the most imaginative strategies of the First World War. It was planned by Winston Churchill.

In 1914, the German army had delivered a crushing blow² to Russia at Tannenberg at the start of the war and had been driving³ eastwards. The Russians were threatened⁴ by a Turkish advance through the Caucasus and appealed⁵ to their allies for assistance. Gaining⁶ control of Gallipoli would re-establish communications with Russia and release⁷ wheat⁸ and shipping locked in the Black Sea by Turkey.

The ANZACs landed at Gallipoli at dawn⁹ on April 25^th. Instead of finding the flat beach they expected¹⁰, they found they had been landed at an incorrect position and faced steep cliffs¹¹ and constant barrages of enemy fire. Fighting on Gallipoli soon settled into a stalemate¹². The ANZACs and the Turks dug kilometers of trenches¹³, facing each other with sniper fire and shelling¹⁵. The stalemate ended in retreat with the evacuation of the ANZACs on December 20^th 1915. By then, 8,141 had been killed or died of wounds¹⁶.

The landing at Gallipoli was seen as a story of courage and endurance amongst¹⁷ death and despair, in the face of poor leadership¹⁸ from London, and unsuccessful¹⁹ strategies. The ANZAC legend was born.