Lest We Forget

It’s close to ANZAC Day in Australia, a day where we pause and spend time thinking about the sacrifices made in wartime. The day itself marks a battle fought in Turkey by the combined Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in 1915. It was a bloody battle that ended in failure, but one that seemed to define our nation, enabling us to cut ties from England and be recognised as independent.

ANZAC day has expanded to commemorate all that served in any war, including nurses, women’s corps and many others in parades and dawn services. As a small girl, I marched as a brownie and girl guide, and later as a member of the Army Reserve. It was not until I grew older that the horrors of war and what the nation went through really sunk in. No one escaped. Not the soldiers, (try hearing I was only 19 by Redgum) or the ones that couldn’t fight (listen to Scorn of the Women by Weddings, Parties, Anything) or the families on the homefront, or the nurses on the front. I’d recommend Kerry Greenwood’s Murder in Montparnasse for a perspective on serving as an ambulance driver in WW1. I also recommend reading about Nancy Wake.

The one good thing that comes from war seems to be the togetherness that comes from fighting a common enemy and being in the same situation of danger. We saw a similar thing during the pandemic lockdowns. Ruth Goodman does some great shows on farming in wartime Britain, and these talk about the increasing privations that brought the community together.

Part of a very Australian tradition is the ANZAC biscuit. Possibly sent off to the boys on the front, but certainly used to fundraise for the war effort, these robust biscuits were a taste of home, and would have been baked with love and perhaps a few tears. The ingredients would have been in every pantry. Enjoy them with a cup of tea and bless those that gave their all for their loved ones and country.

Anzac Biscuits

Ingredients

125gms butter

1 tablespn golden syrup

2 tablespn boiling water

1 ½ teaspn bicarbonate of soda

1 cup rolled oats

¾ cup coconut

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

Method

preheat oven to 150C

melt butter and syrup together

 place flour, sugar, coconut and oats in a large bowl, and mix well

 mix boiling water and bicarbonate of soda seperately

 add soda to golden syrup and butter mixture, stir gently, it will froth up

 add this to dry ingredients, and mix well

 drop on baking trays in golf ball sized drops, allowing 3 cm around each biscuit for spreading

 bake for 20 minutes, until golden, let cool on wire rack.

About Cindy

Cindy Tomamichel is a multi-genre author, with her SMP series Druid’s Portal a time travel action adventure romance set in Roman Britain. Short stories of fantasy, scifi and romance can be found on her website, where she blogs on aspects of world building. The 30 Organizing Tips for Writers provides much needed help for authors trying to navigate social media and build an author platform. Doing NaNo this year? Check out her free book NaNoWriMo Ready. Or pick up a copy of the free Romance Short Stories.

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