Anzac Day overseas service volunteers reflect on their experience
Earlier this year, 23 veterans and family members of veterans were selected to support DVA’s delivery of international Anzac Day Dawn Services. Volunteers supported teams in Türkiye (Gallipoli), France (Villers-Bretonneux), Malaysia (Sandakan), Thailand (Hellfire Pass), Papua New Guinea (Isurava) and Singapore.
Participating in an international Anzac Day service was a deeply significant experience for the volunteers. For families of veterans, volunteering offered an opportunity to honour their loved ones’ service through active remembrance. For veterans, it fostered a connection to Australia’s broader war history and helped them see their own service as part of a proud national legacy.
On their return to Australia, we spoke with some of the volunteers to learn more about their experience and the role volunteering played in strengthening their connection to service.
Ashleigh McNulty volunteered to support the Sandakan service in Malaysia. As a family member of a veteran, she said that attending the overseas service in Sandakan was a truly meaningful experience that gave her a much deeper appreciation and understanding of the sacrifices made by those who served. ‘It was also a chance to connect with others, reflect on our shared history and be part of something very special and memorable,’ Ashleigh said.
Coming together for such an important event, unites us in our shared purpose. ‘Being surrounded by people who were all there to honour, remember and reflect on those sacrifices was deeply moving and created a real sense of connection and shared respect,’ Ashleigh reflected.
As a family member of a veteran, Linda Bone shared similar sentiments. While supporting services in Singapore, she found it especially meaningful to witness veterans take part in the ceremony and reflect on their service, recognising their contributions. For Linda, these moments of quiet reflection deepened the significance of the service. She said that the overall experience ‘really widened my awareness of the history of the location and made the service all the more special’.
Supporting the delivery team in France was Australian Army veteran Francine Dudfield, who served as a medic and provided critical care across diverse environments, including during deployments to the Middle East and South Pacific.
‘There is something incredibly powerful about standing together in a place where so much history unfolded,’ Francine said. ‘Anzac Day is about coming together, remembering together, reflecting together, and honouring the values that define us. I feel proud to be part of something much bigger than myself.’
Matthew Jones, an Australian Army veteran, supported Anzac Day services at Hellfire Pass in Thailand. Reflecting on the experience, Matthew said: ‘It’s so hard to put the experience into words without feeling like I’m not doing justice to what happened there. It was truly one of a kind – an incredible experience, but also deeply humbling and emotional every step of the way.’
Matthew also spoke about how the experience led him to consider his own service more deeply. ‘As a veteran myself, it brought a completely different level of perspective and appreciation,’ he said. ‘It made me reflect on my own service and experiences, especially in comparison to the sacrifice and hardship endured by those who came before us.’
DVA thanks all the veteran and family member volunteers who supported the 2026 international Anzac Day services. Anyone interested in volunteering to support our 2027 international Anzac Day services should keep an eye on the DVA website (www.dva.gov.au) for expressions of interest, which will open later this year.
