23/04/2026
“The Man With the Donkey”
On the steep, unforgiving hills of the Gallipoli Campaign, the noise never stopped—rifle fire, artillery, and the cries of the wounded echoing through the gullies.
Among the chaos was a quiet man named John Simpson Kirkpatrick. He wasn’t a general. He wasn’t a hero in the traditional sense. He was a stretcher bearer - one of many. But Simpson did something different.
He found a stray donkey.
Day after day, under constant fire, Simpson led that donkey up into the hills where men lay injured. He would gently load a wounded soldier onto its back and walk them down to safety. Then he’d turn around… and go back again.
No orders. No hesitation.
Just courage and a simple determination to help others.
For nearly a month, he made that journey through bullets, through exhaustion, through fear. Saving countless lives.
Until one day, the fire found him.
But the image remained: a lone soldier, a donkey, and an unwavering act of compassion in the middle of war.
That’s what ANZAC Day is about.
Not just battles fought, but mateship, sacrifice, and ordinary people doing extraordinary things when it mattered most.
Lest We Forget
Photo: National Archives of Australia
