Thousands of people gathered on an uncommonly warm Dunedin morning to pay their respects to those that have served, this Anzac day.

The Dunedin Anzac Day dawn service began at 6.30am, and commemorated 111 years since the Anzac landings at Gallipoli in 1915.

About 2000 people crowded around the Cenotaph in Queens Gardens to remember the fallen and pay their respects to the servicemen and women who have returned from various conflicts.

The chaplain leading the prayer and blessing was Leah Chrisman.

She said that we often think of attending a gathering as a memorial, but to actively memorialise requires internal action.

‘‘To memorialise calls us to remember, and it also invites us to consider the present and the future in light of the past.

‘‘We remember and honour the sacrifices of thousands upon thousands of New Zealanders during times of war as well as times of peace, through Gallipoli and many conflicts over history, our people have known the trauma and tragedy of war and its aftermath.’’

Trinity…