And then advised that he was actually going to talk about the events leading up to the Gallipoli disaster and the service of his father through WW1. 

Readers would have had to have been there to experience the school masterly presentation and the writer suggests if you weren’t there and wish to catch up with the history you click here and there.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_World_War_I 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallipoli_Campaign 

Duncan’s father after being stationed initially in Egypt was part of the invasion at Gallipoli. He survived and went on to serve in Normandy. (Those of you are following this can figure that Duncan was born after the end of WW1 (but that’s another story)). The landscape of Gallipoli was compared to that of Mt Iron with the sea being up to the main road. Duncan was able to attend the 100 year anniversary memorial and get a first-hand understanding of the size of the area in which 3,500 New Zealanders and 15,000 Australians landed in; less than a sports stadium! The Dardanelles only being about the width of Roy’s Bay. 

Duncan related his dis-satisfaction of the process associated with the selection of New Zealanders to attend the memorial. After being declined a position he and his son were able to successfully mount a campaign to get there. But once there Duncan felt that others who were there were generally political favourites. On his return he partitioned the ombudsman and was very disturbed to receive a mostly redacted report from the defence department about the process.  He made a few comments about politics that went along the lines of _____ and _____ are __ ___ the ______ 

Altogether a very interesting talk and no one needed to receive the threatened chalk projectile for falling asleep. 

Derek Valentine