THE NAVY AT GALLIPOLI

Noel Phelan, will speak on The Navy at Gallipoli.

Noel Phelan was a science and mathematics teacher before he moved into IT with IBM, where he spent several years in technical and management positions. He has been a volunteer guide at the Maritime Museum for some years, and is a member of Navy Historical Society. Gallipoli is remembered for the troops who landed there, but less is often said of the ships that took them there and those that took them away. RAN ships, under the command of the RN, had an important role. Over 250 ships were involved in landing the ANZACS and their supplies. Wharves were built and the wounded were taken from them back onto the ships for evacuation. An Australian submarine was involved in sinking Turkish ships. When a decision was made to evacuate the troops, over 100 ships were used to move the troops out at night. The navy’s role at Gallipoli is too often overlooked.Australian forces were first in and last out at Gallipoli.

The historian Charles Bean described the ANZAC spirit using the following words.

Endurance, courage, ingenuity, resourceful, good humour, mateship and loyal.