Gallipoli … and the Christian Connection

ANZAC Cove The convoy of nervous soldiers sailed towards ANZAC Cove. The plan was to storm the peninsula and defeat the Turks. This would help to speedily win the war.

Dawn Assault The soldiers transferred from their ships into smaller boats and proceeded to the shore. On reaching the beach, steep cliffs surrounded them and enemy soldiers were firing down on them from above. They were trapped. By the end of that day over 2000 ANZAC soldiers were dead or wounded.

Chaplains Many people go about daily life not thinking much about God, but in times of war with difficult situations confronting them, things are different. Often God and spiritual things are on soldiers’ minds. The Armed Forces employ chaplains also called padres to help soldiers deal with death and disappointment. They help them to find the answers to questions about life and death, and encourage them to trust in God.

Andrew Gillson Andrew Gillison was an Australian Army chaplain of the 14 th Battalion, part of the convoy heading to ANZAC Cove. Andrew believed God had a job for him to do; not fighting, but ministering to the soldiers. His life was built on God and he had confidence that whatever happened, God was with him - forever.

Ship to Shore At first the chaplains were ordered to stay on the ships to minister to the wounded soldiers brought back, but Andrew knew he needed to be where the fighting was, so he went ashore.

In the Trenches Andrew was in the thick of it, in the trenches, serving the soldiers however he could. He earned a reputation for bravery and the respect of all the men. They were his friends. One day, in full view of the enemy, Andrew leaped over the top of a trench to rescue an injured soldier. A nearby soldier said, “He is a man who fears no bullet.”

Active Support Andrew ran back and forth, dodging gunfire, risking his life to encourage and comfort those who needed it. He prayed with the wounded soldiers, and assured them that God was with them as they suffered. He wrote in his Gallipoli diary, “I never beheld such a sickening sight in my life.” He hated the death and disease, the flies and the mud. But to the soldiers, the chaplain was a reminder that God cared about their situation and was there with them.

Dying to Self One day Andrew crept from the relative safety of the trench to rescue another badly wounded soldier. Crawling backwards and keeping low so the enemy couldn’t see him, he felt a sudden pain. A bullet had gone right through his shoulder. Three hours later, he died there on Gallipoli. “I’m just a servant, going home to my Master,” he said as he was dying.

For me to live is Christ It is recorded of Andrew Gillison: ‘”(He had) … a Christ-like devotion to his fellow-men that found him near them in their last moments.” Andrew died at ANZAC Cove saving others, just as Andrew’s master Jesus chose to sacrifice his life, dying so that we could live. ‘Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ John 15:13(NIV)