At long last: on the 11th day, of the 11th month, at the 11th hour, there will be a Remembrance Day service this year in Wollongong, despite the COVID-19 pandemic putting paid to so many of our treasured traditions throughout 2020.
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It will be an indoor affair in Wollongong, held at the City Diggers club instead of the Cenotaph 100m away.
This service, starting at 10.50am on Wednesday, will be for members and invited guests only this year, not the public, but this will at least serve the most important function of these events - allowing veterans to gather and spend time with their comrades.
City of Wollongong RSL sub-branch president Bruce Kafer said members would appreciate it after a year in which Anzac Day services were cancelled.
"This year particularly, given we've not been able to conduct any other commemorative services, it is really important for us to commemorate Remembrance Days as an RSL sub-branch at whatever scale we can do it - and we're attempting to achieve that," he said.
"From an Australian perspective, World War I was our first major participation in conflict overseas.
"Over 420,000 Australians served in WWI, which was exponentially a largely number than previously. Of [that] about 210,000 were casualties out of a population of about 5 million at the time. Everybody was affected by it in some way. Everybody knew someone who was injured or killed in action. It was such a monumental conflict from our perspective ... seared in the memories of our great-grandparents, our grandparents, our parents and now us.
"Whilst it might be fading in the minds of Australians, I think it's really important to remember that World War I, that was our baptism of fire in a major conflict.
"Then at the end of it all, the relief, grief, some joy, and at the same time, whole families losing sons on the battlefield. I guess that's why so many of us continue to remember it year after year."
Rear Admiral Kafer said November 11 had a resonance beyond our shores.
"Millions of people lost their lives in a conflict that was the world's first global war, the first industrial-scale war," he said.
"For many nations in the world Remembrance Day is the only major commemorative event they have in their calendar. We have Anzac Day ... the Americans have Memorial Day, for nations like the UK and others, they have one big commemorative event a year, Remembrance Day.
"For many migrants who come to Australia, who may have served in previous wars, it really is a big day indeed."