The ANZAC "A" badge is a brass insignia authorised in November 1917 for members of the First Australian Imperial Force who had served as a member of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) during the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. In 1918, eligibility was extended to those who had served at Lemnos, Imbros and Tenedos and the transports and hospitals off Gallipoli as well as the communications line to Egypt.
The origins of the award are uncertain with John Monash, William Birdwood and John Gellibrand all being credited with the idea in various accounts. The most likely version is that the award was a result of several ideas proposed in early 1916 to commemorate the Anzacs. When Monash led his brigade in commemorating the first Anzac Day, men who had served at Gallipoli wore a blue ribbon on their right breast and those who had gone ashore as part of the first landing wore a red ribbon as well. Birdwood advised in August 1916 that he supported Australian veterans of the ANZAC campaign wearing an "A" badge on their colour patches.
The 1st and 2nd Divisions supported the idea enthuastically. The 3rd and 4th, both of which had fewer ANZAC veterans in their ranks, were less enthusiastic in their adoption of the badge. However, Monash, as commander of the 3rd Division, was able to claim by November 1916 that "'All who have a right to be called "Anzacs" among us are now wearing a metal "A" on the colour patches on the sleeves". [2]
In early 1917, convalescent soldiers returned to Australia wearing the badge and its status was initially questioned. This led to its formal approval through AIF Order 937 issued in November 1917. Subsequent orders clarified the entitlement to the badge and made it compulsory. In January 1918, the order extended eligibility to people who had served behind the lines on the Greek islands of Lemnos, Imbros and Tenedos, on the communication lines and hospital ships offshore or on the islands or in the communications to Egypt. This included nurses who served in the hospital ships meaning that women as well as men received acknowledgement as ANZACS.
There was initial resentment of the badges by soldiers who had fought in France at the Battle of Pozières and the Battle of Mouquet Farm in 1916 who thought that their contribution had been equal to the Anzacs.
ANZAC rosettes were also worn by men who had joined in 1914 and came home on ANZAC leave to show that they had not been shirking their duty.
The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the six-divisions the British Army sent to the Western Front during the First World War. Planning for a British Expeditionary Force began with the 1906–1912 Haldane reforms of the British Army carried out by the Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War (1899–1902).
The Gallipoli campaign, the Dardanelles campaign, the Defense of Gallipoli or the Battle of Gallipoli was a military campaign in the First World War on the Gallipoli peninsula from 19 February 1915 to 9 January 1916. The Entente powers, Britain, France and the Russian Empire, sought to weaken the Ottoman Empire, one of the Central Powers, by taking control of the Ottoman straits. This would expose the Ottoman capital at Constantinople to bombardment by Entente battleships and cut it off from the Asian part of the empire. With Turkey defeated, the Suez Canal would be safe and a year-round Entente supply route could be opened through the Black Sea to warm-water ports in Russia.
The First Australian Imperial Force was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division and one light horse brigade. The infantry division subsequently fought at Gallipoli between April and December 1915, with a newly raised second division, as well as three light horse brigades, reinforcing the committed units.
The New Zealand and Australian Division was a composite army division raised for service in the First World War under the command of Major General Alexander Godley. Consisting of several mounted and standard infantry brigades from both New Zealand and Australia, it served in the Gallipoli Campaign between April and December 1915.
Imbros, officially Gökçeada since 29 July 1970, is the largest island of Turkey, located in Çanakkale Province. It is located in the north-northeastern Aegean Sea, at the entrance of Saros Bay, and has the westernmost point of Turkey. Imbros has an area of 279 km2 (108 sq mi) and has some wooded areas.
Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War as Commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915, leading the landings on the peninsula and then the evacuation later in the year, before becoming commander-in-chief of the Fifth Army on the Western Front during the closing stages of the war. He went on to be general officer commanding the Northern Army in India in 1920 and Commander-in-Chief, India, in 1925.
Lieutenant General Sir James Whiteside McCay,, who often spelt his surname M'Cay, was an Australian general and politician.
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which primarily consisted of troops from the First Australian Imperial Force and 1st New Zealand Expeditionary Force, although there were also British and Indian units attached at times throughout the campaign. The corps disbanded in 1916, following the Allied evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula and the formation of I ANZAC Corps and II ANZAC Corps. The corps was reestablished, briefly, in the Second World War during the Battle of Greece in 1941. The term 'ANZAC' has been used since for joint Australian–New Zealand units of different sizes.
General Sir Cyril Brudenell Bingham White,, more commonly known as Sir Brudenell White or C. B. B. White, was a senior officer in the Australian Army who served as Chief of the General Staff from 1920 to 1923 and again from March to August 1940, when he was killed in the Canberra air disaster.
Unit colour patches are a method of identification used by the Australian Army, used to indicate which unit a soldier belongs to.
Major General Sir John Gellibrand, was a senior Australian Army officer in the First World War, Chief Commissioner of the Victoria Police from 1920 to 1922, and a member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Tasmanian Division of Denison for the Nationalist Party from 1925 to 1928.
Brigadier General Thomas Griffiths, was a Welsh-born officer in the Australian Army who served in mainly administrative positions during the First World War. He later served as Administrator of Nauru and of Papua New Guinea.
Lieutenant General Sir Carl Herman Jess, was an Australian Army officer who served in the First and Second World Wars.
Lieutenant General James Gordon Legge, was an Australian Army senior officer who served in the First World War and was the Chief of the General Staff, Australia's highest ranking army officer between 1914 and 1915 and again from 1917 to 1920. His son, Stanley Ferguson Legge, reached the rank of major general.
Brigadier General John Patrick McGlinn, was an Australian public servant and a senior officer of the Australian Army during the First World War.
The military history of New Zealand during World War I began in August 1914. When Britain declared war on Germany at the start of the First World War, the New Zealand government followed without hesitation, despite its geographic isolation and small population. It was believed at the time that any declaration of war by the United Kingdom automatically included New Zealand; and the Governor announced that New Zealand was at war with Germany from the steps of Parliament on 5 August.
The Sydney Cenotaph is a heritage-listed monument located in Martin Place, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Bertram Mackennal and built from 1927 to 1929 by Dorman Long & Co. It is also known as Martin Place Memorial and The Cenotaph. It is one of the oldest World War I monuments in central Sydney. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 11 November 2009.
The 2nd Light Horse Regiment was a mounted infantry regiment of the Australian Army during the First World War. The regiment was raised in September 1914, and by December as part of the 1st Light Horse Brigade had moved overseas. During the war the regiment only fought against the forces of the Ottoman Empire, in Egypt, at Gallipoli, on the Sinai Peninsula, and in Palestine and Jordan. After the armistice the regiment eventually returned to Australia in March 1919. For its role in the war the regiment was awarded nineteen battle honours.
The Australian Army was the largest service in the Australian military during World War I. The First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was the Army's main expeditionary force and was formed from 15 August 1914 with an initial strength of 20,000 men, following Britain's declaration of war on Germany. Meanwhile, the separate, hastily raised 2,000-man Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF), landed near Rabaul in German New Guinea on 11 September 1914 and obtained the surrender of the German garrison after ten days; it later provided occupation forces for the duration of the war. In addition, small military forces based on the pre-war Permanent Forces and part-time Citizen Forces were maintained in Australia to defend the country from attack.
The 1st Garrison Battalion, Essex Regiment, was a unit formed from older or unfit men for line of communication duties during World War I. It served at Gallipoli, carrying out a multitude of tasks both at the bases and under fire on the beaches. The battalion continued serving at the bases in Egypt and at Salonika until after the end of the war.