Forward July 2015 | Page 4

ANZAC DAY A century of ANZAC rememberance It is 2.00am on the morning of our ANZAC Service. There is a real sense of anticipation in the air. There hasn’t been much sleep, as the sounds of Brothers In Arms breaks the silence and adds to the excitement of what lays ahead. The Production Manager has not yet been to sleep and is going through a final light and sound check. A gentle mist has formed over the water and the puff of the fog machine creates an amazing picture as the lighting changes from the blue to yellow to red. I know this is going to be a very special day. It has been my five year dream to commemorate and remember those 128 Old Guildfordians who lost their lives in the different theatres of war. In just two hours the darkness will be broken with the buzz and excitement of those volunteers who have given up their time to help with the service. Some of the first to arrive are the young students who will brave the cold water and accompany the rowers to wait quietly for their prompt to dramatically recreate the landing on the Gallipoli shores in a very contemporary, physical performance. Very soon the Prefects are welcoming the guests, many of them relatives of the fallen soldiers, some of them wearing their family’s medals; some of them coming with their children still wiping the sleep out of their 4 eyes. All there with the same reflective thoughts; to remember those Guildford Grammar School boys, some very young, who lost their lives. Talking to the boys in the darkness, I felt such an overwhelming sense of satisfaction