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 REMEMBRANCE DAY |
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INFORMATION |
REMEMBRANCE DAY:
Remembrance Day tradition;
Why is this day special to Australians?
At 11 am on 11th November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare. The allied armies had driven the German invaders back, having inflicted heavy defeats upon them over the preceding four months. In November the Germans called for an armistice (suspension of fighting) in order to secure a peace settlement. They accepted the allied terms of unconditional surrender.
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month attained a special significance in the post-war years. The moment when hostilities ceased on the Western Front became universally associated with the remembrance of those who had died in the war. This first modern world conflict had brought about the mobilisation of over 70 million people and left between 9 and 13 million dead, perhaps as many as one-third of them with no known grave. The allied nations chose this day and time for the commemoration of their war dead.
On the first anniversary of the armistice in 1919 two minutes' silence was instituted as part of the main commemorative ceremony at the new Cenotaph in London. The silence was proposed by Australian journalist Edward Honey, who was working in Fleet Street. At about the same time, a South African statesman made a similar proposal to the British Cabinet, which endorsed it. King George V personally requested all the people of the British Empire to suspend normal activities for two minutes on the hour of the armistice "which stayed the worldwide carnage of the four preceding years and marked the victory of Right and Freedom". The two minutes' silence was popularly adopted and it became a central feature of commemorations on Armistice Day.
On the second anniversary of the armistice in 1920 the commemoration was given added significance when it became a funeral, with the return of the remains of an unknown soldier from the battlefields of the Western Front. Unknown soldiers were interred with full military honours in Westminster Abbey in London and at the Arc de Triumph in Paris. The entombment in London attracted over one million people within a week to pay their respects at the unknown soldier's tomb. Most other allied nations adopted the tradition of entombing unknown soldiers over the following decade.
After the end of the Second World War, the Australian and British governments changed the name to Remembrance Day. Armistice Day was no longer an appropriate title for a day which would commemorate all war dead.
In Australia on the 75th anniversary of the armistice in 1993 Remembrance Day ceremonies again became the focus of national attention. The remains of an unknown Australian soldier, exhumed from a First World War military cemetery in France, were ceremonially entombed in the Memorial's Hall of Memory. Remembrance Day ceremonies were conducted simultaneously in towns and cities all over the country, culminating at the moment of burial at 11 am and coinciding with the traditional two minutes' silence. This ceremony, which touched a chord across the Australian nation, re-established Remembrance Day as a significant day of commemoration.
Four years later, in 1997, Governor-General Sir William Deane issued a proclamation formally declaring 11 November to be Remembrance Day, urging all Australians to observe one minute's silence at 11 am on 11 November each year to remember those who died or suffered for Australia's cause in all wars and armed conflicts.
Read More information from the Australian War Memorial Website. |
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Home
I marked the place where brave mates lay
amid shells exploding all around.
With Helmets atop a rifle stock;
and bayonets in the sodden ground.
Evident on this pocked and fetid earth,
for the medics or the tanks.
Whether they be private, Sarge or Major
mortar cared not for their rank.
Volunteer novices, we were ANZAC’s
they made us pawns for their first lines.
Sent us out to the mince machine;
annihilated in the shortest time.
The silence finally came my friends,
Homeward bound for who was left.
But home was so vastly different
too many men our towns bereft.
Vivid red, I see the Flanders poppies,
Mythically nurtured from too much blood.
A sign of precious life renewed
when Spring released them from the mud.
Bowed heads in a minute of silence
to honour all our brave.
I hope you now feel peace my friends
Still there, in your unmarked graves.
© 2010
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And some beautiful words from John Schumann (Redgum) ©
"May you always feel the sunshine; take the time to taste the rain, May your friends be true and caring and I hope you are the same.
And in your fleeting passage leave a little bit behind for the children who will follow in your footsteps, along the sands of time.
I dreamed there was a world for you without the rush of rockets
and the thump of khaki gunships in the sky…
But there were rows of eucalyptus and trains for little boys
And tadpoles in a still black creek and playgrounds full of noise;
In my vision, fear and greed and anger were the only things to die…
May the wind blow gently through your life, may your principles be strong;
May you stand up and be counted when they work out right from wrong.
May your nights be short and peaceful;
May you days be warm and long.
May your music be a service, may they Pause sometime and listen to your song."
JOHN SCHUMANN WEBISTE
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WELCOME TO WHATS ON
Whats On Central Coast
is run by a true local, born in Gosford and is very proudly Central Coast & Australian owned and operated.
An extensive knowledge and a love of the area plus a genuine interest to promote all it has to offer is what sets Whats On Central Coast apart from the others.
So if you are looking for holiday, temporary or permanent Central Coast accommodation, a spot of Central Coast shopping, some brilliant Central Coast entertainment, a surf report before a dip in one of the many pristine Central Coast Beaches or a round of Golf followed by some fish and chips or maybe 5 star cuisine from one of the many Central Coast restaurants or take-away's you have definitely arrived at the right place..
We also have the resources to help with your wedding plans too!
Check the links above and also to the left and find all you'll need to enjoy a night out on the town or a whole holiday!
Welcome to my home town
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