- 145 – HMAS Anzac detachment of musicians has up to and including La Coruña Spain performed: 1 Freedom of Entry March (Albany) 3 memorial services on board (Kanimbla Helo crew, ANZAC day and the AE2 submarine) 4 memorial services ashore (Crete) 1 open day 1 Maritime Commanders Divisions (Stirling) 8 Cocktail parties (Albany - Australia, Goa - India, Alexandria - Egypt, Chania -Crete, Istanbul - Turkey, Valletta - Malta, Toulon - France), La Coruña - Spain) 7 Ceremonial Sunsets 1 Marching display (with guard) 2 Anzac Idol heats 25 Wakey wakeys 12 Procedure Alphas 2 Official receptions 1 Wardroom function 10 Public Concerts 3 Commanding Officer’s luncheons 4 Replenishment’s at Sea 3 Sail pasts (including the memorial sites on the headlands of Gallipoli) 10 Countries’ National Anthems and; 2 local songs: the Black Sea march supplied by Turkey and Rianxiera by Spain. The officials and guests of both countries were very impressed by our renditions of their local songs of which all sang along with great gusto, the Turkish Chief of Navy in fact, asked for an encore! I have to admit that some of my very favourite parts of the deployment did occur whilst I was on leave. I had the opportunity to travel to Paris and see some of the world’s greatest artworks at the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay. Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel tower (where I did have one of many chocolate croissants) and I climbed the Arc de Triomph (all 284 stairs). I strolled along the tree lined Siene and Champs d’Elysees. All the things I had imagined about Paris… the food (I did not however eat frogs legs or snails) the sights, the stylish (and those who think they are stylish) people, the extravagance, the expense! Catching the train through the provinces and across the Pyranees and the Spanish border to Barcelona where the fantastic (in the truest sense of the word) constructions of the master architect Gaudi were on every street corner. In Madrid I visited Picasso’s most famous, massive and moving painting “Guernica” (of the unprovoked bombing of the small Provencal town of that name). I also attended a bullfight in Madrid (which I will have to explain in depth at another time) which was, at the very least, a fascinating insight into Spanish tradition and custom. Others in our detachment travelled into Italy, to Monaco, into Provencal France and Spain and even back to Malta. As I walked with one of my shipmates from the train station to meet up with the ship in La Coruña (we had no idea where the ship was berthed) we crossed a large overpass and through the buildings I could see HMAS Anzac lit up like a Christmas tree. It was strangely like coming home. At the halfway point of the deployment it feels like we still have a seemingly long way to go before we are “home” home, but if the first half of the deployment is anything to go by the next half will be truly amazing!
Royal Australian Navy Band: A Musical Voyage
