Fortunately, the rain held off as Nelson Bay RSL Sub-Branch hosted the service which had to be restricted due to the coronavirus pandemic for the second year in succession.

This year also marked the first time in 20 years that Australia would not be involved in an active conflict.

A mix of war veterans, proudly displaying their medals, partners, families and a smattering of younger people come together to acknowledge, honour and remember all those who have served, those who gave their lives in service and those still serving today.

The service began with an opening address by Nelson Bay RSL sub-branch vice-president Tom Lupton followed by the mounting of the catafalque party and official address by RAAF Base Williamtown Group Captain Jason Easthope.

His address was briefly interrupted by a flypast featuring a single RAAF Base Williamtown F-35A Lightning II aircraft at precisely 11am.

A prayer was followed by The Ode, the sounding of The Last Post and Reverie and a wreath laying ceremony.

As part of his speech, GPCAPT Easthope talked about the importance of silence that is dedicated to the dead during that moment, that hour, that day, that month.

"Young Australians, whose passing into the silent land, we will honour by ourselves becoming silent," he said.

"We gather and pay homage to those who served in the great war. Just like ANZAC Day and the connection to Gallipoli, Remembrance Day is borne from a defining moment in our history ... dedicated to all those brave souls who lost their lives in service./

"Today we pay special attention to those courageous Australians who fought on the dreadful battlefields in the Great War, one of the bloodiest wars in history, more than a century ago.

In particular we paid a heavy price on the Western Front, which ran for more than 750 kms, from the English Channel to the French Swiss border. Along its length, barbed wire, trenches, mud and shattered villages, spoiled the pleasant rolling countryside with its fields of poppies."

GPCAPT Easthope said that the battling armies of WWI endured ghastly conditions and faced a level of horror humanity could not imagine, a warfare of attrition that would cost so many so much.

"The waste of human life was so terrible that some said victory was scarcely discernible from defeat. Our young volunteer soldiers suffered enormously. Not just facing the enemy, but nature as well.

"In the winter of 1916, the worst on record, our troops had to survive with two blankets and water rations received as a block of ice. Soldiers met the dawn, often with eyes frozen shut, to eventually gaze over a bleak corpse ridden landscape, bracing against the horrors of another day.

"From our 300,000 volunteers, 60,000 would die in the great war, three-quarters on the western front alone. 150,000 were gassed, wounded or taken prisoner. So many did not return, and many of those who did return, returned forever broken.

"Of the many volunteers, my thoughts are drawn to the 'lost boys' - the thousands of under age Australian and New Zealand boys, who lied about their age to enlist and fight. So young at only 16 years of age, with such a sense of duty, purpose or adventure.

The sacrifice, the pervasive loss suffered by our small nation, would affect life in every community. Our memorials, large and small, thousands throughout the country, inscribed with the names of our soldiers, sailors and aviators who never returned, unselfishly giving their lives for our nation."

GPCAPT Easthope talked of the brave Australians whose lives were lived in deeds, not years, in sacrifice, not heartbeats.

"These men and women, connected through our history, or strangers from another time, have given us so much to be thankful for, that today, we fall silent for them, as the guns on the battlefield fell silent, over a century ago.

"Since the great war, we have gathered and acknowledge the sacrifices made over many wars and conflicts. We pay tribute to all who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. We cherish the dwindling opportunities to say thank you to our World War veterans, we acknowledge the sacrifices, and thank the veterans from Korea to Malaya, Borneo to Vietnam, Afghanistan to Iraq.

"We acknowledge those who have served and we thank those who still serve today. Remembrance Day means many things to many people. Whether its personal sacrifice, family or loved ones lost, a friend or a distant connection, or just a sense of duty: The important thing is, you are here, treasuring our proud legacy, acknowledging our fallen."

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