THE NEK CEMETERY (ANZAC)
Gallipoli
Turkey
Location Information
The Anzac and Suvla cemeteries are first signposted from the left hand junction of the Eceabat - Bigali Road. From this junction you travel into the main Anzac area. After 11.8 km's, follow the metalled track to the cemetery. The Nek Cemetery is a short distance north of Quinn's Post. The Nek is the track leading along the narrow spur from Russell's Top to Baby 700, and the cemetery stands on a ridge with Pope's Hill on the south-west and Malone's Gully on the north-west.
Visiting Information
The Cemetery is permanently open and may be visited at any time. Wheelchair access is possible via the main entrance.
Historical Information
The eight month campaign in Gallipoli was fought by Commonwealth and French forces in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war, to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front in France and Belgium, and to open a supply route to Russia through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea.
The Allies landed on the peninsula on 25-26 April 1915; the 29th Division at Cape Helles in the south and the Australian and New Zealand Corps north of Gaba Tepe on the west coast, an area soon known as Anzac. On 6 August, further landings were made at Suvla, just north of Anzac, and the climax of the campaign came in early August when simultaneous assaults were launched on all three fronts.
The Nek was a narrow track leading from Russell's top to Baby 700 which was reached and passed by the 12th Australian Battalion early on 25 April, but not held. It was attacked by the New Zealand and Australian Division on 2 May, and by the 3rd Australian Light Horse Brigade on the morning of 7 August, but was never retaken.
The cemetery was made after the Armistice in what had been No Man's Land.
There are now 326 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 316 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to five Australian soldiers believed to be buried among them.
Identified Casualties
Australia 6
New Zealand 4
Cemetery pictures © Geerhard Joos
The Anzac and Suvla cemeteries are first signposted from the left hand junction of the Eceabat - Bigali Road. From this junction you travel into the main Anzac area. After 11.8 km's, follow the metalled track to the cemetery. The Nek Cemetery is a short distance north of Quinn's Post. The Nek is the track leading along the narrow spur from Russell's Top to Baby 700, and the cemetery stands on a ridge with Pope's Hill on the south-west and Malone's Gully on the north-west.
Visiting Information
The Cemetery is permanently open and may be visited at any time. Wheelchair access is possible via the main entrance.
Historical Information
The eight month campaign in Gallipoli was fought by Commonwealth and French forces in an attempt to force Turkey out of the war, to relieve the deadlock of the Western Front in France and Belgium, and to open a supply route to Russia through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea.
The Allies landed on the peninsula on 25-26 April 1915; the 29th Division at Cape Helles in the south and the Australian and New Zealand Corps north of Gaba Tepe on the west coast, an area soon known as Anzac. On 6 August, further landings were made at Suvla, just north of Anzac, and the climax of the campaign came in early August when simultaneous assaults were launched on all three fronts.
The Nek was a narrow track leading from Russell's top to Baby 700 which was reached and passed by the 12th Australian Battalion early on 25 April, but not held. It was attacked by the New Zealand and Australian Division on 2 May, and by the 3rd Australian Light Horse Brigade on the morning of 7 August, but was never retaken.
The cemetery was made after the Armistice in what had been No Man's Land.
There are now 326 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 316 of the burials are unidentified but there are special memorials to five Australian soldiers believed to be buried among them.
Identified Casualties
Australia 6
New Zealand 4
Cemetery pictures © Geerhard Joos
Gallipoli, Turkey. 25th June 1923. An aerial photograph taken at 400 feet of the Nek and Anzac Cemetery. The monument is in the course of construction. A Turkish Memorial can be seen in the background. The deserted eight year old trenches are still clearly visible. (Donor R.W. Murphy, Imperial War Graves)
