Attended the ANZAC day Dawn Service at 6.00am this morning to a good crowd at Morphett Vale’s memorial. No rain at all but quite cold. It’s always amazing to see so many come. The service itself is quite short. Lowering the flags, the service and laying of the wreaths. The two minute silence and the anthems.

I will put this link to RSL SA down, as much to remind myself, as my readers of where to get the details of the local services, which are not so easy to find. There are quite a few locally so perhaps next year we will attend one of the others.

One man was carrying a frame full of medals emotion of his face plain.

We remembered too the other members of ANZAC. The New Zealand flag and anthem of course but there was also a haka. Kia kaha.

We will remember them.

Soon it will be Anzac Day here in Australia and the ABC have done a Gallipoli special which I think is worth a squiz.

In approximately 2 hours it will be time for a minute of silence.

Today we remember the fallen of World War I. It’s Remembrance Day here and in other Commonwealth Nations. We observe silence for 1 minute at 11AM on this 11th day of the 11th month, and ‘The Last Post’ is played.

Remembrance Day also has services around the country usually at war memorials and serves as a reminder of the sacrifice the soldiers during WW1 which ended in 1918 on this date. It’s not a holiday but it is widely observed. It’s less about the right or wrong of WW1 or war in general and more about the sacrifices made by diggers and others during that awful war.

John “Jack” Ross was our last surviving veteran of some 417,000 brave Australians who served in WWI, the Great War. But now our last WW1 Digger has passed on quietly in his sleep on 3rd June 2009 in Bendigo.

RSL Victorian president David McLachlan said Mr Ross was “a very proud Australian” who “represented that generation of magnificent people who went to the First World War”.

Born March 11, 1899, in Victoria, John “Jack” Ross enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force aged 18, in January 1918. He also served in WWII. In his civil life he was a railway worker.

RIP John “Jack” Ross, we thank you for your service.

John over at the Castle honours him.

Today the 25th of April holds a special place in my heart. For it was this day 4 years ago I met the man I love.

But today too is a special day in a broader context. For on this Day way back in 1915 the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) landed on Gallipoli in the beginning of a truly grueling campaign as part of World War I. So we commemorate these brave men and that has now extended to include all who died in the service of war, including the more recent ones.

One of the traditions of ANZAC day is the dawn service where the last post is played, wreaths laid and various things said, recited, sung and prayed for. I had never attended one till today. We went to the local one held along South Road in a memorial park in Morphett Vale.

We arrived well on time for the service to begin at 6.00am and it was nice to see so many people there perhaps a thousand or more I’m not so good at estimating crowds. It strikes me as a remarkably Australian service in many ways yet it’s quite inclusive of course of New Zealand but also other Commonwealth nations and allies. This memorial included several commonwealth flags besides our own. Naturally at this time of the year the weather is a little unreliable and as it happens it did rain on us though not too heavily.

I did take a couple of snaps not many really but it was very dark, not sure how they turned out. I will post them later if they are any good.