ANZAC Day: RSL Call Us All To Join Them Online

THE RSL has called upon all Australians to commemorate ANZAC Day this year with their Light Up The Dawn initiative.

All Australians can logon to ANZAC Spirit to pledge your support and at 6am they will broadcast on their page a service we can all join in from our phones in driveways, on our verandah or in our lounge room. 

“I encourage all of the community to be involved especially with Light Up the Dawn by standing in their driveways remembering social distancing and listening to the broadcast from 6am,” said Ray James, RSL NSW acting president.

“We will broadcast the normal service on ANZAC Day which is symbolic with the Ode, followed by the last post, remembering a minute’s silence followed by Reveille and they can all join in with that in their streets and their neighbourhoods, whether they are on their balconies, in their driveways or in their lounge room,” he said.

“It is somewhat difficult for some of our men and women, especially in the older age group not being able to leave their home, so I encourage all people in the community who knows a veteran or a relative who is a veteran and they can’t be socialising as normal, to give them a phone call and make sure that they are ok,” Ray James said.

Bruce Brown and Val Quinell from the Scone RSL sub-branch have said it is a great initiative for people to remember and also encourage local people to lay wreaths at the war memorials.

“I think the idea the RSL of people getting up in the morning and lighting a candle is a great way of showing respect and hopefully everything is back for next year,” said Val Quinell.

“I think it’s good idea, some of the things you see people have organised for dawn in little cul de sacs around the country is really good,” said Bruce Brown. 

“Val and I will lay a couple of wreaths during the day,” he said.

“We can’t gather together this year, but we can still have two people lay a wreath and a lot of people have said they will be laying wreaths too,” Mr Brown said.

As a returned service man, Bruce has some sage advice during the pandemic, “Hang in there, that’s all you can do and hopefully when you come out the other side you’ll be better off; it will be over one day.”