THE ANZAC troops who arrived in Weymouth from Gallipoli will be remembered at a special day of events.

June 1, 2015 will mark 100 years since the first sick and injured Anzac troops arrived in Weymouth from the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey.

To mark the centenary there will be two special events in the town. The first will be a service and wreath laying at the Anzac graves in Melcombe Regis Cemetery on Newstead Road at 10am.

The Mayor will be attending to lay a wreath, as will the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society and the Weymouth and Portland Residents Association. There will be a short service and a poem will be read.

This is being organised by the South Dorset group of the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society. Then at 11am there will be a plaque unveiled at the Prince Regent Hotel by the Weymouth and Portland Residents Association.

Philip Sherwood, from the Somerset and Dorset Family History Society, said that the hotel used to be called the Burdon’s Hotel and it was commandeered by the army and became the Burdon Military Hospital for the duration of the First World War.

Many Anzac troops were sent to the town to convalesce.

Both events will be open to the public to join in.

Mr Sherwood encouraged everyone to join them for the morning of remembrance. He said: “I feel very proud that our town was able to cope with so many sick and injured soldiers in the Great War - both Anzacs and Tommies, and restore so many of them to health, even though many were returned to killing-fields of the Somme and Passchendaele.

“As to the Gallipoli campaign, there is a much greater awareness of it in Australia and New Zealand because that is where the spirit of those nations was born. Here we only tend to be aware of it if we have a soldier in our family tree who fought there. Our web site receives many requests from Australians researching Anzacs who were sent to Weymouth. Over ninety Anzacs are buried at Weymouth, and we have written a biography on each of them.”

To learn more about the Anzacs in Weymouth visit weymouthanzacs.moonfruit.com.