REMEMBRANCE Day marks the end of World War I.

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It was on 11 November 1918, that the guns of the Western Front fell silent after four years of continuous warfare.

The German armies were retreating when the Armistice was signed, bringing to an end the First World War.

Australians were there, with five divisions of the Australian Corps having been at the forefront of the Allied advance to victory.

These diggers had great successes, including the battle of Hamel.

They also helped to turn the tide of the war at Amiens, they were there for the capture of Mont St Quentin and Pèronne, and when the allies breached German defences on the Hindenburg Line.

They fought to the point of exhaustion and achieved a fighting reputation out of proportion to their numbers, their victories came at a heavy cost.

Our diggers suffered almost 48,000 casualties during 1918, including more than 12,000 soldiers that paid the ultimate price.

In the four years of the First World War more than 330,000 Australians had served overseas, and more than 60,000 of them had died.

The social effects of these losses cast a long shadow over the postwar decades.

Today it is important to Australia that we mark the sacrifices made by our diggers and around Port Stephens Remembrance was marked in many ways.

While the official ceremonies were very different due to COVID-19, a minute’s silence was held in many places.

Tributes were also made in schools and within the community.

Felicity Hamilton of Latitude One told News Of The Area, “We have a knitting group of 8 ladies who decided to knit poppies to acknowledge Armistice Day yesterday, during the discussion the wife of a veteran overheard their idea and proposed that we hold a small service to show our respects for those past and present serving our country.

“Resident, Ron Horton an Army veteran was the MC during the service, we had approximately 60 residents and staff with all of us planting hand knitted poppies in one of the park areas of the Latitude One, it was a lovely way for the community to come together and show our respects,” she said.

While most of us did not live through the war, believed to end all wars at the time, we still hold true to the tradition and ‘At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them’.

By Marian SAMPSON