Address by The Dean of Westminster | ANZAC Day 2024

Westminster Abbey

The Dean speaks about those who died at Gallipoli and those who have died in conflict since whilst drawing upon ideas the Book of Revelation wants to offer us: We should be known not forgotten. We belong together not apart. The Dean also tells a personal story about his Grandfather, who was saved by his bible and a cigarette case during the First World War. ANZAC Day is the anniversary of the landings on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey by allied forces on 25th April 1915. What followed was one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War. In Australia and New Zealand, ANZAC Day not only commemorates those first landings at Gallipoli, but also all Australians and New Zealanders who have given of themselves in the service of their countries and communities in the years since. Westminster Abbey has been closely associated with ANZAC Day commemorations from the very beginning. Services of Commemoration and Thanksgiving continue to be held regularly at the Abbey.