Remembrance Day 2021 – At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns on the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare as the course of history would be forever changed. The allied nations decided on the 11th hour of the 11 day of the 11th month to remember their fallen and it became known as Armistice Day. The second anniversary of Armistice Day in 1920 was significant as remains of Unknown Soldiers were brought back home and interred with full military honours in Westminster Abbey in London and the Arc de Triumph in Paris. In one week alone over one million people visited the grave of the Unknown Solider in Westminster Abbey and over the coming decades other allied nations followed to also bring back home their Unknown Soldiers. The name was changed to Remembrance Day after the second world war and plans were put in place to bring home an Australia’s Unknown Soldiers.
One of our Diggers, an Unknown Australian soldier was recovered from Adelaide Cemetery near Villers-Bretonneux in France and brought back home to Australia in 1993 for the 75th anniversary of armistice. A funeral procession for our Unknown Soldier through ANZAC Parade was supported by thousands of Australians who gathered to honour him. Before he was peacefully laid to rest World War 1 Australian Digger Bob Comb gently sprinkled soil from the battlefields of Pozieres and murmured, “You’re home now, mate”. The Unknown Australian Soldier represents all Australians who have been killed in war as every year we gather to remember our heroes.
Today we had the privilege of enjoying time on the Indian Ocean that surrounds our West Australian coastline. Blackhawks and jets were not unnoticed as many reflected on the significance of this day. A beautiful mother Humpback Whale and her calf were quietly moving through the resting grounds, hardly a ripple would move around their bodies during each surfacing. There was a minute of silence at 11am as the stillness around us was only broken by the powerful exhale of the mother Humpback Whale. Everyday we are grateful for the freedoms we enjoy in this magnificent country and will never forget the sacrifice that was given. Our bravest still serve to this day and it is a time to reflect, remember, honour and support the men and women past and present who continue to fight for our freedoms. Lest We Forget❤️
