I didn't attend any services this year as I've got my vehicle half pulled apart so no transport, and possibly a good thing as it was pouring rain. I watched the televised dawn service held on the beach at Elephant Rock at Currumbin on the Gold Coast, and I think it was the first time the Currumbin service has been televised. With Gallipoli being a beach landing, the dawn services held on beaches seem to have a bit of extra effect. It was a good service to watch, with a bit of everything from letting homing pidgeons go to John Williamson finishing the service performing his song True Blue.
Every Anzac Day I can't help thinking how sad it must have been for some families with multiple losses. You see it quite a bit on small town cenotaphs where there will be three or four of the same surname listed, especially on the WW1 section. Most are usually siblings and/or cousins. Our extended family has only ever lost two members, my great uncle killed in France in 1916, and my nephew in active service with the Navy in 2011. My other great uncle returned home safe from service with the Lighthorse in the Middle East and my father and maternal grandfather both returned home safe from the islands in WW2. My Dad's sister was also in the Army as a nurse in the AANS, but she served in Australia only.