ANZAC Day - Lest We Forget
/Royal New Zealand Fighter Pilots circa Second World War. New Zealand and Australia have always been close allies. ANZAC is the abbreviation for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
In Australia, April 25th is known as ANZAC Day. ANZAC day began in 1916 and initially was a part day holiday to reflect on those soldiers, who in the First World War had lost their lives in Gallipoli. Over the years, the day has become one in which to reflect on all those from all services and corps who have lost their lives in military conflicts that Australia has been involved in.
The significance of ANZAC Day to many Australians, is as a day in which to reflect on the courage and sacrifice of others, and the fact that Gallipoli and other similar actions helped to forge Australia as a nation - a nation that came into being as the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901.
What is the connection between ANZAC Day and the building of a B737-800 flight simulator or for that matter aviation in general?
The carnage of war was one of the main catalysts to the evolution of many new innovations of which aviation was but one. Of importance. was the emergence of the Australia Flying Corps (AFC) which was the forerunner of the Royal Australian Airforce (RAAF).
Hudson Fysh standing beside one of the first QANTAS aircarft
QANTAS
Emerging from the hell of the Great War came three Australians (Fysh, M’Ginness and McMaster) who, toughened by war, hardship and bonded by mateship, developed what would be the second oldest airline in the world. In 1920 the trio formed the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd, or QANTAS.
Hudson Fysh was born in Launceston, Tasmania, on 7 January 1895. He enlisted with the 3rd Light Horse Regiment, at the outbreak of World War I and saw active service at Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine before transferring to the Australian Flying Corps. He was commissioned at a lieutenant and served as an air gunner with No. 1 Squadron AFC in Palestine and received a Distinguished Flying Cross for his gallantry in air combat and attacking ground targets in late 1918.
Fysh and M'Ginness in AFC attire circa 1918
Paul McGinness was born at Framlingham, Victoria, on 4 February 1896. He joined the 8th Light Horse Regiment in 1914 as a trooper. After training in Egypt, he served at Gallipoli where he was one of the few survivors of the charge at The Nek in August 1915 and was wounded. He later received the Distinguished Conduct Medal for scouting and leadership in the Sinai desert in 1916.
.Fergus McMaster fought in the Great War as a gunner with the 7th Battery, 3rd Brigade, Australian Field Artillery at Amiens, Villers-Bretonneux and Hamel.
W Arthur Baird was not a founding a member of QANTAS; however, his engineering skill was vital to the early success of the air service. Baird joined the Australian Flying Corps and served as a flight sergeant in Palestine with No. 1 Squadron AFC where he met Paul McGinness and Hudson Fysh. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) for his ability to maintain aero engines in difficult conditions, and Baird was an obvious choice to keep the aircraft flow by QANTAS in the air.
Lest We Forget.
