Mel plays Frank Dunne, an unlikely recruit in this English war. He meets up with Archie Hamilton (played by Mark Lee) whose idealistic views persuade Frank to join him in the fight. Frank ends up a runner in the fateful trenches of the Dardanelles. A very moving story about war and the tragic, senseless loss of young men's lives.
The Gallipoli campaign took place between April and December 1915 in an effort to take the Dardanelles from the Turkish Empire (an ally of Germany and Austria) and thus force it out of the war. Some 60,000 Australians and 18,000 New Zealanders were part of a larger British force.
Some 26,000 Australians and 7,571 New Zealanders were wounded; and 7,594 Australians and 2,431 NZ$ were killed. In numerical terms Gallipoli was a minor campaign but it took on considerable national and personal importance to the Australians and New Zealanders who fought there.
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