The names that are chiselled on the granite slabs of our Cenotaph are not just names.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
All of them were killed in action or died from wounds or were executed or died in prisoner of war camps in horrible conditions.
But they were people who were proud and willing to fight in the defence of our country and the free world.
They were boys who had been at school here who had friends and families.
They had girlfriends and sweethearts and wives. They loved and were loved. Some may have been fathers of children.
They were Church of England and Catholics and Presbyterian and Methodist and Baptist and Jew.
But most of all they were Australian. Proud of their country and prepared to die in the defence of this great nation.
So when you read their names or hear them being read out, do not think of them as names chiselled on a stone wall, but as living people who might have been.
Imagine how they might have married and had children and grandchildren and even great grandchildren to love and to hold.
Think of how they may have loved and laughed and been proud members of our community.
So don't just drive by our Cenotaph without a glance, but sometimes stop to think about these brave men who gave their lives that we might be free in this great country we call home - Australia. Think about how but for the fact of timing, it might have been your brother, your husband, your father, your sweetheart or your friend.
Ted Davies
Narromine RSL Sub-Branch