Echoes of Gallipoli

The battles on Gallipoli in 1915 were crucial in making New Zealand the nation it is today. The huge sacrifice of life has affected the country for generations, and our annual formal remembrances on Anzac Day have become increasingly important. It is twenty years since the full story of Gallipoli was last told in book form. Now a new book will add significantly to our understanding of the events of 1915 on the Gallipoli penisula. Terry Kinloch tells the story with the help of members of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, who emerged from Gallipoli battered and depleted, but with reputations enhanced. He has thoroughly researched their letters and diaries, and cleverly interspersed their eyewitness comments into his text. The result is a book that reads with the immediacy of actually being there. It is a fresh way of telling history, and one that is sure to find a response among New Zealanders today. The full story is here: the call-up, the sea journey, camp in Egypt, the eventual arrival in Gallipoli, all the battles and skirmishes that were fought there, and finally the remarkable evacuation several months later.