Ms Julia Niblett, the High Commissioner of Australia, along with the Bangladesh Government representative, Director General of DGFI Major General Md Saiful Abedin, BSP, ndc, psc, Chargé d' Affaires, Embassy of Turkey Mr Enis Faruk Erdem, Honorary Consul of New Zealand Mr Neaz Ahmed, and Captain Andrew Dakin of the Royal Australian Navy, placed wreaths at the remembrance service.
ANZAC Day is held on 25 April to commemorate the day in 1915 when troops from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landed in Gallipoli, Turkey during World War I. During the eight month Gallipoli campaign over 8,700 Australians were killed.
This year on ANZAC Day, the contribution of Australian service nurses - men and women – was particularly acknowledged. The Commemorative Service highlighted the sacrifice of servicemen from the Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal New Zealand Air Force who served with British Royal Air Force Squadrons in both the Burma and India/Ceylon theatres, including around Chittagong during the Second World War.
A number of these airmen lost their lives while supporting the jungle fighters and now lie buried in the Chittagong and Comilla war cemeteries.