HMS Bulwark at Gallipoli commemoration
With the dipping spring sun turning the waters off Cape Helles a gleaming gold, Britain today remembered the men of Gallipoli.
They stood for several hours in the shadow of the giant sandstone cenotaph - which honours around 21,000 British and Commonwealth Servicemen with unknown graves on the peninsula, including 1,200 sailors and Royal Marines - giving them plenty of time to reflect on events here on April 25 1915.
"Being here 100 years to the day, recognising the sacrifice of all those who fought gallantly really has been a special occasion," said Steward Kehinde Adejmuo.
"To be at the spot makes you appreciate the scale of the battlefield and how hard fought it was. Today we are alongside Turks, Australians, New Zealanders, Irishmen, and we are all brothers."
26 year old Writer Rose Gleghorn's great grandfather Walter Burr lied about his age to join the Essex Regiment. He found himself wading ashore from cutter boats holding his rifle above his head while Turkish snipers picked off his comrades.
The soldier was subsequently wounded and spent the rest of his life picking pieces of shrapnel out of his knee – and could never listen to the hymn On a Hill Far Away because it reminded him of Gallipoli.
"Last year the ship took part in the 70th anniversary of D-Day which was an incredible experience, but here I have a personal connection – one I only learned about a few days ago because my great grandfather never talked about his war experiences," said Rose.
"Now I've been where he was 100 years ago and can appreciate what he went through all the more."
My ship's company and I feel deeply honoured and privileged to play a part in these commemorations and to be here to honour the fallen from all nations.
Captain Nick Cooke-Priest
Bulwark herself was just a few hundred yards off the cape, whose waters were also peppered with vessels from France, New Zealand, Australia and Turkey.
Just minutes before proceedings at Helles the ships had sailed past the imposing Turkish memorial just along the coast at Abide, where guests attending an international service of thanksgiving run by the host nation were treated to a stunning display by the Turkish Stars aerial display team and their F16 jets.
"The Gallipoli campaign was a hugely-significant event in the First World War. It is a tragic and heart-wrenching chapter in history, a story of bravery, brutality, compassion, heroism and loss and – in the aftermath – extraordinary humanity," said Captain Nick Cooke-Priest, HMS Bulwark's Commanding Officer.
"The scale and nature of the ceremonies 100 years on are right and fitting for commemorating the memories of the glorious dead.
"My ship's company and I feel deeply honoured and privileged to play a part in these commemorations and to be here to honour the fallen from all nations."
His ship's participation in Gallipoli 100 events concludes with a sail-past of Anzac Cove at dawn on Saturday, focal point for Australians and New Zealanders whose nations' identities were forged here in 1915.