Bogan Shire Mayor Ray Donald addressed the crowd on behalf of Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair AC, who spoke of the sacrifices of Australian soldiers whose bravery ensured our nations freedom.

Mayor Donald read out Sinclair’s address detailing the chain of escalating events which led to the bloody and relenting four-year conflict. 

Mr Sinclair paid homage to the services during the Great War, including the merchant navy, whose sacrifices he believes often go unacknowledged. 

“From a then population of around five million, close to half a million volunteered for service in the Army, Navy and Merchant Navy,” Mr Sinclair said.

“And yes we had a merchant navy back then, and it’s regrettable that Australian merchant navy losses tend not to be acknowledged in our Remembrance Day event.”

“They served not only in Australian ships, but in the ships of other nations and their losses were considerable,” in the words of the Admiral. 

He went on to detail the significant losses throughout the Great War, especially the staggering number of casualties in just fourteen minutes of battle. 

“Across all the services Australian losses were the highest per capita of any empire country,” Mr Sinclair said. 

“To put [losses] into perspective, in just 14 hours at Fromelles Australia lost over 5000 men, which is far more than we’ve lost over the last 68 years in Korea, Malaya, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Gulf, Iraq, Afghanistan and all peacekeeping missions combined.” 

“It’s almost an unbelievable fact.”

Remembrance Day, Mr Sinclair said is significant for most Australians who were in some way affected by the Great War and the many more conflicts that Australia has been involved in. 

Mr Sinclair concluded his address encouraging future generations to uphold the tradition of Remembrance Day to ensure that the brave sacrifices of men and women throughout the years will not be forgotten. 

“Sadly it seems that mankind is never to learn how to avoid the unthinkable,” Mr Sinclair said.

“And on this special day we now reflect on on the contributions and losses on all the wars and actions that have occurred throughout our history.”

“It’s important that future generations continue to mark the day of Remembrance in the years and decades to come.

“But its also important to emphasise we gather here today not to remember the obscenity of this war, but the scarifies of the bravery of men and women over many generations who have fought and died in the many conflicts our country has been involved in throughout its history, so that we might continue to live in freedom in this great land of ours.”

“For the men and women that we honour and remember  here today, gave us that precious gift of freedom and it is of the present and not just the past we honour their courage, loyalty and unique mateship, which takes friendship to a higher plain.”

“If we carry that torch of freedom into the future, with the same courage and dedication, and demonstrate in our lives the same loyalty and commitment to our nation and its people, then their sacrifice to us will not be in vein.

“We will then have given true meaning to those ofren quoted words ‘we will remember them, lest we forget.’