Fine weather and an even finer clock tower were on the books for this year’s Boorowa Anzac Day ceremony.
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Both young and old were on hand at both the dawn and morning services to commemorate the spirit of Australia’s Defence Force.
Boorowa RSL sub-Branch President Phil Armitage, said it was fantastic to see so many people at each service.
“The day has gone very well, we had the dawn service at 6am and we had about 200 people there,” he said.
“Unlike last year the weather was fine, no rain, and we had some bleachers set up. Which made things a little better for the older ones, including myself.
“I think everything went splendidly well,” he said.
The morning services guest speaker was Air Vice-Marshal Robert Richardson AO, AFC, (retired) who spoke of the harsh conditions faced by Australia’s first pilots during the opening conflicts of World War I.
Air Vice-Marshal Richardson severed in the Australian Air Force for forty years and was Chief of Air Force Personnel and Deputy Chief before retiring.
Air Vice-Marshal Richardson had a varied career during his time in the Air Force as an experimental test pilot for 14 years, a fighter pilot in South East Asia during the Indonesian Confrontation period in the 1960’s and conducting development work on weapons clearances.
Air Vice-Marshal Richardson was also the first Australian to fly the F/A-18 during its procurement process for the Australian Air Force
Air Vice-Marshal Richardson said it was fantastic to see so many young people in attendance.
“I think Anzac day is incredibly important, but isn’t it wonderful to see the children and young people attending,” he said.
“They aren’t just coming along because there parents have dragged them along.
“They are here because they want to be, you look at the way they are going to Gallipoli and France, they are genuinely interested and that’s great,” he said.
A sentiment echoed by Mr Armitage.
“I like to include the youth of today so they understand what’s behind the day.
“It's not just a glorification of war, it’s a commemoration of the hopes that we don’t go there again,” he said.
Mr Armitage said the RSL Sub-Branch was now looking at their future projects including a commemoration of the Centenary of Armistice and new commemorative plaques.
“There are a number of other projects but the completion of the clock has been the main one,” he said.
“There is nothing here for the Boer War, nothing for Korea, nothing for Vietnam and nothing for post Vietnam.
“The First World War is not complete and the Second World War is not complete because some 905 went to serve.
“We can’t hope to put all there names on the memorial, but we can place a plaque the talks about the numbers that went.
“So now we need to keep fundraising without straining the community,” he said.
Mr Armitage also thanked everyone who attended a service, the captains of Boorowa Central School and St Joseph’s School and his team at the RSL for all their hard work.