Community & Business
6 November, 2025
Gilgandra to reflect on the meaning of Remembrance Day
Gilgandra RSL Sub-Branch will hold a Remembrance Day Service this year.
As the nation prepares to pause for one minute’s silence on November 11, the people of Gilgandra will again gather to honour the men and women who have served in Australia’s armed forces, and to remember those who never returned home.
Remembrance Day holds deep meaning for Gilgandra, a town whose name is interwoven with Australia’s military story. It was from here in 1915 that the Coo-ee March began – a rallying call that inspired hundreds to enlist during the First World War. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the 2015 Coo-ee March re-enactment, which concluded at Martin Place in Sydney on Remembrance Day that year. The event rekindled community pride and reaffirmed the enduring spirit of service and sacrifice that began in Gilgandra more than a century ago.
At 11 o’clock on 11 November 1918, the guns on the Western Front finally fell silent, bringing to an end four years of devastation that cost some 20 million lives worldwide. For Australia – then a nation of fewer than five million people – the losses were staggering. More than 416,000 men enlisted, with 62,000 killed and 155,000 wounded. Many more carried the mental and emotional scars of war for the rest of their lives. The first Armistice Day observance took place in 1919, introducing the two-minute silence that remains at the heart of today’s commemorations.
In time, Armistice Day became Remembrance Day, recognising the sacrifice of Australians in later conflicts – from the Second World War through to Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and peacekeeping operations around the world.
The red Flanders poppy, inspired by the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’, has become the most visible emblem of remembrance. In Australia, poppies adorn memorials, school walls and lapels, each symbolising gratitude for those who gave their lives.
At the Australian War Memorial, 62,000 handcrafted poppies mark the centenary of the Armistice – one for every Australian lost in the Great War
In Gilgandra, as the town observes this solemn day, residents and students alike will reflect not only on the cost of war but also on the courage, unity and resilience of those who served. The silence at 11am will again echo with the simple promise that endures through generations: Lest We Forget.
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