By Brendan Rees
Veterans and students have gathered to pay homage to fallen heroes at the Arthur Wren Hall in Hampton Park as part of a Remembrance Day ceremony.
Member for Holt Anthony Byrne was a special guest at the luncheon to commemorate the Centenary of Armistice on Wednesday 7 November.
The event was organised by the Hampton Park Progress Association, which received $9,196.00 under the Armistice Centenary Grants Program to involve the local community to commemorate the Centenary of Armistice.
At the special commemoration luncheon the Hampton Park Progress Association invited teachers and students from six schools including Hampton Park Primary School and Rivergum Primary School, HamptonPark Secondary College, St Kevin’s Primary School, Coral Park Primary School and Kilberry Valley Primary School; to have the opportunity to meet with veterans from the Dandenong Cranbourne RSL and Young Veterans to learn about their service in the Australian Defence Force.
During the luncheon Sandra Cleave, Team Leader at the Hampton Park Casey Cardinia Libraries provided a historical insight into some of stories from the war of local men from the Hampton Park region that served in World War I.
The Hampton Park Centenary of Armistice Commemorative Luncheon aimed to put World War I into perspective for the younger generations, as during WWI more than 60,000 Australians were killed and 156,000 were wounded. For Australia, the First World War remains the costliest conflict in terms of deaths and casualties.
“I wish to congratulate the Hampton Park Progress Association for organising such a successful event,” Mr Bryne said, “and for inviting students from six local schools to experience this special commemoration for the Centenary of Armistice. #LestWeForget.”
