ANZAC alphabet OP

Drawing of Anzac alphabet O and P. The caption underneath reads: 'O is the optimist struck by a splinter, happy to be think he'll be home by the winter; P is the spotlessly uniformed paragon, living in splendour on HMS "Aragon"'. This work was published in the 'ANZAC Book', which was first printed in 1916 from illustrations, poems, stories and other creative works from the soldiers on the Gallipoli peninsula. In November 1915 CEW Bean, an official war correspondent and eventually official war historian, called for contributions for what was initially to be an ANZAC New Year magazine. Bean edited the work on the island of Imbros and after the Greek publisher fell through, arranged to have the work published in London by Cassell and Company. The book is composed of satirical and sombre pieces about the conditions of life at Gallipoli. It also provides a general outline of the April 25 landing at ANZAC Cove and the military advances, offensives and defensives undertaken in the following months until the eventual evacuation of the Allied forces at the end of December 1915. The introduction was written by General Sir W Birdwood, who explains how he named ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli peninsula after the ANZAC forces. Bean contributed an editor’s note in which he outlined the harsh conditions that the book was produced in, the significance it had taken on, and acknowledged the contributors.