More than 200 people attended a small Remembrance Day service in Warragul on Thursday with smaller gatherings in Drouin and Trafalgar.

The crowd was welcomed by Warragul Municipal Band and a wreath laying ceremony.  Wreaths were laid by secondary college students, primary school students and numerous local organisations.

Warragul RSL president Ben Vahland said he was pleased to address the crowd after COVID had hampered events in the past 20 months.

Mr Vahland said it was the 100th anniversary of the selling of the Poppy which, thanks to community support, had supported veterans and their families over that time.

“We are here today to commemorate the 103rd anniversary of the signing of the Armistice, ending of World War I on the 11th of November 1918; after four years of slaughter,” he said.

“Today, we pay homage to the men and woman of whom, from a population of fewer than five million, 416,809 enlisted, over 62,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner.

“We also gather to remember and commemorate the sacrifices our veterans have made in defending our freedoms and rights.

Referring to the fenced off cenotaph, Mr Vahland said the barrier was seen to protect people from an unseen enemy – a barrier that has seen the development of an “us and them” society. “A barrier that is a culmination of the erosion of our rights and freedoms.

“These circumstances may seem dire, but these circumstances should encourage us to reflect more deeply about why we are here today,” he said.

“I hope that each and every one of you reflects on, and acknowledges the sacrifices our veterans have, and continue to make, to protect our country and the life we so highly value.

Mr Vahland commented to the life of a WWI soldier in a trench facing a barbed wire fence and the enemy.

“I hope that you recognise that what we have endured of recent times, whilst difficult, cannot ever compare to the experiences of that young soldier in the trench, and the wire fences he faced time and time again, in his advance to freedom.

“Today we revere the sacrifice of all those service men and women from all conflicts.  But we must also remember the living, those veterans who bear the emotional injuries of war.”   

A small COVID restricted attendance of about 45 people spread across the forecourt and grass in Drouin’s Memorial Park observed Remembrance Day.

The number for the brief service outnumbered the 66 people from the Drouin district who were killed in World War I in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe and whose names are remembered on the memorial in the park.

In his address to the gathering, Drouin RSL president Rod McNab reflected on the 60,000 Australians that lost their lives in the “Great War” from 1915-19 and 60,000 more that died from injuries or illness sustained in the War within 10 years of returning home.

Today Remembrance Day also reflects on the sacrifices of others from World War II and subsequent conflicts in which Australians have fought.

It is a day of commemoration, peace and forgiveness, Mr McNab said.

Remembrance Day was originally called Armistice Day, marking the signing of the peace treaty, but in Australia changed to the current naming after World War II.

At Drouin the singing by Libby Wilms of “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” and the laying of poppies at the base of the memorial linked the service to the poppies that grew at Flanders Field in Belgium where one of the major battles of the war was fought.

The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, written and first performed in 1971, which is based on an account of a young Australian serviceman who lost both his legs at Gallipoli and could no longer go waltzing Matilda.

The service concluded with laying of wreaths, the Last Post, one minute’s silence, the Ode of Remembrance, Reveille and the national anthem.

A smaller than usual crowd gathered at Trafalgar for a service led by Trafalgar Thorpdale RSL branch president Jim Crowe.

As the fire siren sounded at 11am, the crowd stood in silence to reflect on the meaning of Remembrance Day and what it represents today.

Mr Crowe said it was a day to remember those who had given their lives in the great tragedies of war for the freedom of Australia.

He said it was a day set aside to remember the sacrifice of those who died in wars and conflicts.

“Australia is a free and democratic country…we must never forget their sacrifice – the sacrifice those men made was truly unbelievable,” he said.

Mr Crowe said Australians were grateful for the Anzacs who established the traditions that were still honoured today.

“Today we remember, we acknowledge and are thankful for the service of our men and women,” he said.

Branch secretary Chris Johnson read out the names of all servicemen listed on the Trafalgar cenotaph.

Wreaths were laid by the RSL, Trafalgar fire brigade, Trafalgar Lions Club, Baw Baw Shire, Trafalgar High School, Trafalgar Primary School and St Joseph’s Primary School.