Remembrance Day: Home

 The Ode of Remembrance

When the Ode is recited at a commemorative service, visitors should stand,  remove headwear and refrain from talking.

They shall grow not old,

as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them,

nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun

and in the morning

We will remember them.

Response:

We will remember them. Lest we forget.

Origins of the Ode

The Ode of Remembrance has been recited to commemorate wartime service and sacrifice  since 1921. Reading a poem at a commemorative service  can help the audience to understand the  wartime experience of service men and women. Well- known wartime poetry is often used  during services. The Ode is the 4th stanza of the poem  For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon. The poem was first published in British newspaper The Times in 1914. The poem later appeared in many anthologies of war verse. In 1919, Binyon’s poem was selected to accompany the unveiling of the London Cenotaph and was adopted as a memorial tradition by many Commonwealth nations. The poem was read at the laying of the Inauguration Stone at the Australian War Memorial in 1929.

Remembrance Day is observed during the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. A minute’s silence is observed and dedicated to those soldiers who died fighting to protect the nation. 11th November. Services are held at 11:00 am at War Memorials, schools, workplaces and many more places across the country. During the service, the “Last Post” is sounded by a bugler (played on a trumpet), followed by a one-minute silence and “Reveille”.

Today the loss of Australian lives from all wars and conflicts is commemorated on Remembrance Day.

We will remember them. Lest we forget.