Voices of Gallipoli is a collection of verbatim testimonies from veterans who fought at Gallipoli and lived to tell the tale.
They were told to Maurice Shadbolt nearly seven decades after the last shot in the campaign was fired. For many of the elderly soldiers, it was their first and last chance to tell their remarkable tales of suffering and survival.
Playwright Arthur Meek has created a format so that individual testimonies can be read aloud at Anzac commemorations and events across New Zealand and around the world.
Each testimony is spoken out loud by a representative of the present. They may be of any age, gender or background.
These recollections tell how humble and mostly simple New Zealanders lived and died on Turkey’s Gallipoli peninsula for eight months in the year of 1915.
There is a set fee to perform these readings. Individual readings run from 11 to 24 minutes.
Standalone events will generally consist of three readings with a run time of one hour.
Producers are able to select from :
Voice of Tony Fagan
Joined from Northland. Fought for Auckland Infantry Regiment.
Voice of Henry Lewis
Joined from Wellington. Fought for Otago Infantry Regiment.
Voice of Hartley Palmer
Joined from Nelson. Fought for Canterbury Infantry Regiment.
Voice of Russell Weir
Joined from Wellington. Fought for Wellington Infantry Regiment.
Voice of Dan Curham
Joined from Whanganui. Fought for Wellington Infantry Regiment.
Voice of George Skerret
Joined from Bluff. Fought for Otago Infantry Regiment.
Voice of Harvey Johns
Joined from Gisborne. Fought for Wellington Infantry Regiment.
Voice of Charlie Clark
Joined from Gisborne. Fought for Wellington Infantry Regiment.
Voice of John Skinner
Joined from Central Otago. Fought for Otago Infantry Regiment.
Voice of Bill East
Joined from Taihape. Fought for Wellington Mounted Rifles.
Voice of Joe Gasparich
Joined from Whangarei. Fought for Auckland Infantry Regiment.
Voice of Vic Nicholson
Joined from Gisborne. Fought for Wellington Infantry Regiment.