NO one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends.
The Salvation Army’s Captain Alan Daly reiterated the words of St John during his prayer at Tuesday’s Remembrance Day Service and said this was exactly what every person in the Armed Services was prepared to do for the sake of family, for the sake of friends and for the sake of this nation.
A serious note on a serious day when the community stops at 11am for a minute’s silence to remember the fallen from past conflicts and to pay tribute to those who have taken up the torch for this generation and the next.
It was 90 years to the day on Tuesday that the signing of the Armistice brought an end to the four years of hostility of World War I.
Sixty thousand Australians died in World War I and a further 156,000 were wounded or taken prisoner.
Lt. Col Tony Egan quoted the words of former Prime Minister Paul Keating from his eulogy for the unknown soldier during his address.
“”We might think this Unknown Soldier died in vain.
“But, in honouring our war dead, as we always have and as we do today, we declare that this is not true. For out of the war came a lesson which transcended the horror and tragedy and the inexcusable folly.
“It was a lesson about ordinary people – and the lesson was that they were not ordinary. On all sides they were the heroes of that war; not the generals and the politicians but the soldiers and sailors and nurses – those who taught us to endure hardship, to show courage, to be bold as well as resilient, to believe in ourselves, to stick together.”
He said those characteristics continued today as the nation continued to be resolute in courage to resist acts of violence.
“If we fall there are others to take up the torch,” Lt. Col Egan said.
Singleton RSL sub-branch president Mick McCrone said no-one who took a close look at the memorial at Burdekin Park could walk away without a deep sense of loss.
Mr McCrone described the war memorial in Burdekin Park as one of the district’s most significant.
“You cannot walk away without a great sense of loss and a deep sense of pride and a deep sense of hope,” Mr McCrone said.
He said there was no higher calling then to serve the nation and those who chose to continue this tradition did so with a deep reverence of this land Australia and the great values we all stand for.
Also involved in the Burdekin Park Service were Singleton Heights Public School students Tully Winsor and Rebekah Wandel who recited traditional Remembrance Day poetry “Flanders Field’ and “We Shall Keep the Faith”.
Various organisations were called upon to lay wreaths and a minute’s silence coincided with the Remembrance Day eleventh hour significance, broken only by the slow toll of the bells at All Saints’ Anglican Church.
Once again, Nigel Cox was the master of ceremonies. During the traditional Remembrance Day lunch at Singleton RSC, Mr Cox spoke about plans for Anzac Day 2009 which he hoped to combine with a reunion of Vietnam veterans who were born in Singleton.
He said the tracking process had only just begun and would be happy to hear from anyone who may have an interest in attending the reunion.
Mr Cox can be contacted at Singleton High School on 6571 1199. He said the Vietnam reunion would complete a series of reunions that have coincided with the school’s past Anzac Day services.
•RSL lunch pg 15
•See Tuesday’s edition for High School Service