The English daily The Telegraph reported this month that a retired tortoise breeder had issued a plea to return the pet to where it lived, in the beaches of Gallipoli.
“Blake the Tortoise” has been living in Norfolk, England, for 97 years. A British soldier plucked the tortoise from Gallipoli´s beaches and carried him in his backpack nearly 2,000 miles to England. He didn´t want to let the tortoise die in the battlefield when he returned to his country.
He looked after the tortoise for a long time and was outlived by the animal. The tortoise has already lived over 30 years longer than its owner. Breeder Marion Skinner, from Neatishead, Norfolk, became the new owner in 1983 and has taken care of the animal since then.
Skinner, 67, applied to the Norfolk Tortoise Club in her search for a new home for the tortoise as she is no longer able to take care of old “Blake.”
However, her dream is to see the tortoise returned to Gallipoli beaches after all those years, she said in remarks to the daily.
As the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli nears, Turkish officials are trying to bring the tortoise back home. The story of “Blake” came on the agenda in a meeting of a council formed for planning various activities in 2015, the centenary of the Battle of Gallipoli, by the Turkish government. Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Çanakkkale Governor Güngör Azim Tuna said they began to work on procedure to bring the tortoise, which is seen as a symbol of peace, back to the country.
“We may bring the tortoise back to the country in 2015, the centenary of the war in Gallipoli, or even earlier than that. The commemoration of is critical importance for contributing to peace and friendship [between countries]. It is good to see that countries which fought against each other in the war now have friendly relations, and address peace and friendship in joint commemoration ceremonies in Gallipoli every year.”
He added that meetings with the British Embassy will take place soon on the issue of bringing the tortoise, a witness of the Gallipoli war, back.
Note : Welcome to your country " Blake" , we might need to give you a Turkish name