Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand. It began on 25 April 1916 to honour the landing at Gallipoli one year before by members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps; it has become Australia’s unofficial national day. It has waxed and waned over the decades, an indicator of the difficulties countries which have devolved peacefully from their parent have in creating and sustaining a foundation myth.
On 25 April 1792, the Strasbourg mayor asked a fellow freemason to write something to stir the troops of the revolutionary army. The result was the “War Song for the Army of the Rhine”, dedicated to its freemasonic commander.
The song was a hit, soon becoming “La Marseillaise”. Not so fortunate the mayor or the commander, guillotined in the following years. The author lived to die in poverty. In the same year as ANZAC landed at Gallipoli, his remains were transferred to Les Invalides. C’est la guerre.
