Tribute to Anzacs as Queen Elizabeth visits Sydney en route to Gallipoli 

In the lead up to the Gallipoli centenary, Australians today paid their respects to the nation’s fallen Anzacs at a special memorial service onboard Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth in Sydney.

Reflecting Cunard’s long-standing association with Australian wartime campaigns, including Gallipoli, the cruise line invited locals to pay tribute to their Anzac heroes by placing a poppy in a wall of remembrance beside Queen Elizabeth at Circular Quay.   

Onboard the ship, leading political, military and community figures attended a special morning service featuring a tribute to the first Anzacs by Australian War Memorial Director, Dr Brendan Nelson.

Among the guests at the service was Braidwood resident Mark Keys, the great grandson of 2nd Lieutenant Francis Jensen who was killed on his third day of battle at Gallipoli.  

Visitors to the two-metre poppy wall, formed in the shape of “100” to mark the upcoming centenary, were also invited to honour their war heroes by writing a personal message in a remembrance book. 

Both the poppy wall and remembrance book will form the centrepiece of a commemorative service onboard the ship on April 24, the eve of Anzac Day, when Queen Elizabeth reaches the waters off the Gallipoli Peninsula during her current world voyage.  Messages from the book will be read out at the service and the book will then be placed in Queen Elizabeth’s library where it will remain in memory of the heroes of Gallipoli.

Representing Cunard, Carnival Australia CEO Ann Sherry said the line was honoured to pay tribute to the Anzacs during Queen Elizabeth’s Sydney visit.

“Cunard’s proud 175-year maritime legacy is interwoven with our military history. Since the Crimean war in 1853, Cunard ships have assisted Allied forces in times of warfare, including during the First World War when 20 Cunard ships were lost,” Ms Sherry said.

“Two Cunard ships – Mauretania and Aquitania – moved troops to the Mediterranean at the time of the Gallipoli expedition, with Aquitania then converted to a hospital ship, carrying 25,000 injured Allied troops back to the UK until early 1916.

“Cunard’s relationship with Australian forces continued during the Second World War when thousands of our troops sailed to war from Sydney on the original Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. 

“It’s a strong connection, so we are extremely proud that the new Queen Elizabeth can play a part today in remembering the service and sacrifice of the original Anzacs. Their nation building contribution continues to resonate down the generations because the families of those who served have never forgotten.”

New Zealanders commenced the poppy tribute last Friday, placing flowers in the wall during Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Auckland. By the time the wall is carried onto Queen Elizabeth in Sydney tomorrow evening at the end of her two-day visit, it will be filled with 11,500 flowers, signifying the number of Anzacs who lost their lives in the ill-fated campaign. 

Mr Keys and his wife Germaine will travel as the custodians of the Australian poppies to Turkey, where Mr Keys will become the first family member to visit his ancestor’s memorial site at Lone Pine.

Monies raised through the poppy wall during the ship’s Sydney visit will be donated to Legacy to support their work with military families.

Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Sydney comes six weeks into her 112-night world voyage which will see her travel from Australia to Europe via Asia and the Middle East before returning to the UK on May 3.

Information supplied by: Cunard Line.

Photo credit: James Morgan.

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