THE annual ANZAC Day ceremony at Harefield went ahead as planned yesterday (Saturday), despite the village cemetery being attacked by vandals.
The graves of 112 Australians are maintained at Harefield, to signify the village’s links with wounded soldiers who convalesced there during World War One.
A flagpole in the churchyard was cut while a memorial and an information panel were sprayed with blue paint.
The ANZAC graves are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission , which condemned the attack.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the landing at Anzac Cove by mainly Australian and New Zealand forces.
The service at Harefield went ahead following repairs to the flagpole and cleaning of the memorial and information panel.
The headstones were restored earlier this year ahead of the centenary commemorations. The site had new plants and turf laid, too.
“The vandalism is very upsetting for the Commission after all the work that has taken place over the last three months,” a spokesman said in a statement.
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