Australia and New Zealand mark Gallipoli centenary on Anzac Day

Thousands of people across Australia and New Zealand are remembering the soldiers who lost their lives during the World War I fighting in Turkey's Gallipoli on the centenary of Anzac Day.

Record numbers of people have been turning up to mark the 100<sup>th anniversary of the ill-fated military campaign as services are being held in various parts.

Anzac Day is observed to mark the landing of troops from Australia and New Zealand in Turkey in 1915. The failed military invasion resulted in the death of about 11,400 soldiers from the two countries.

More than 10,000 Australians and New Zealanders, many of them descendants of the dead soldiers who fought on behalf of the Allied forces, have travelled to Turkey to mark occasion. The ceremony is also being attended by scores of dignitaries from across the world including Princes Charles and Harry.

"Few of us can recall the detail but we have imbibed what matters most: that a generation of young Australians rallied to serve our country, when our country called, and they were faithful, even unto death," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in his address during a dawn service in Gallipoli.

"Most of us have never worn our country's uniform, we have not climbed the steep cliffs of Gallipoli. But we are better for those who have. They were as good as they could be in their time; now let us be as good as we can in ours."

Speaking after the Australian premier, Charles read out some of the soldiers' letters which were written during the Gallipoli campaign.

He said: "When the ANZACs finally left this place, they were tormented by the thought of leaving their comrades behind, that their suffering and loss would be forgotten, that their graves would be unremembered."

In Australia's Canberra, more than 120,000 people turned out for a ceremony at the Australian War Memorial with hundreds of thousands of others gathering in other parts.

An estimated 131,000 people were killed during the fighting in 1915. Of them, 45,000 were from the Allied forces, including 25,000 British fatalities, and 85,000 from Turkey.