The recording is an interpretation of what it sounded like along the Moselle River in France at 11am when the Armistice signalling the end of the war took effect.

Technology didn’t exist at the time to actually record the sounds of battle.

But soldiers used primitive devices designed to detect the range and distance of the enemy’s guns. Those records of artillery fire were used to construction a soundtrack of the last moments of World War I.

As the echo of the final shot on that section of the front fades away, there is a few moments of silence, before the sounds of birdsong returns to the battlefield.

That silence must have been both strange and also welcome to those men in the trenches so used to endless bombardments shaking the ground and throwing mounds of earth skyward.

It was a silence that signalled the end of a war, and that prompted sober reflection on the years of battle.

And perhaps, that’s really the way people should remember both past wars and the efforts of those who fought in them.

There is a period of silence on November 11 and Anzac Day aimed to pay respects to those who came back from war and those who were left on foreign soil.

But for some, these days seem less about quiet, sober reflection of the sacrifices of the fallen and more about making noise.

Politicians fall over themselves in a quest to be seen to lavish praise on our soldiers, to the extent of granting $500 million to the Australian War Memorial for an upgrade – despite criticism from some ex-soldiers.

Companies create initiatives to try to bask in some reflected glory, which always backfire. This includes Virgin’s offer of priority boarding for veterans and that Woolworths “fresh in our memories” campaign.

Some need to remember that days like Armistice Day are not about them and their need to be seen to be showing respect, they’re about those who served.

They should keep quiet and pay their respects.