RESIDENTS and visitors are invited to an Anzac Memorial Service in Weymouth.
A service of remembrance and short wreath laying will be held in recognition of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (Anzac).
At 11am on Wednesday, April 25 – Anzac Day – a civic service organised by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council will be held at the Anzac Memorial on the seafront opposite the Hotel Prince Regent. All are welcome to attend.
The memorial commemorates the thousands of Australian and New Zealand volunteer servicemen who passed through camps and hospitals in Dorset during the First World War between battles in the Middle East and those on the Western Front in Europe.
The memorial was unveiled in 2005, 90 years after the first Australian and New Zealand Arm Corps troops arrived in Weymouth after action in Gallipoli in 1915.
They were the first of nearly 120,000 Anzacs to pass through Weymouth until 1919.
Ninety Anzacs, mostly from Australia, died in Weymouth and were buried at the town cemetery.
At the service, wreaths will be laid by the mayor and representatives of Australia House and New Zealand House from London, ex-service organisations and expatriates living or working in Weymouth.
Borough council spokesman for Leisure, Tourism and Culture Cllr Richard Kosior said: “Anzac Day is a chance to commemorate and honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army who fought at Gallipoli during World War I and reinforce the strong links with the community and forces family of Weymouth and Portland.
"Everyone is welcome to attend the service in recognition of the sacrifice made by personnel of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.”
The Mayor of Weymouth & Portland Mayor Cllr Kevin Brookes will be laying a wreath together with Lt Cdr Thompson, from the Royal Australian Navy and SLT Sam Mayhew from the New Zealand Defence Force.
Les Ames will also lay a wreath of behalf of Weymouth and Portland Residents Association.
Representatives from ex-service organisations and associations will also be attending the ceremony.
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