Marchers, led by John Godden, left the corner of North and Broad streets near the RTC building to proceed up North Street and through the gates of the Memorial Park to the Cenotaph.

MC for the service was John Godden. Elaine Cheney led the prayers and Tony Toohey recited “Flanders Fields”.

Red Bend student Sophie Welsh, daughter of Kevin and Therese, gave the Anzac Day address at Eugowra’s commemorations.

The young student paid tribute to her great, great uncle who died at the Battle of Pozieres and spoke of the impact her own visit to that site. 

Read Sophie’s address … 

I feel very privileged and honoured to share my personal experiences regarding Anzac Day as well as the story of my great, great uncle Roy Lyndhurst Douglas. Anzac Day is a very important part of our Australian spirit and allows us to reconnect with and respect the sacrifices made by the Anzacs so that we can live freely.

I would like to acknowledge all Australian men and women serving in conflict and peace keeping exercises.  

Private Roy Lyndhurst Douglas was the first man from Eugowra to answer the call of duty in the First World War. He enlisted in Parkes at the age of 19 years and 9 months. He was number 429 from the Fourth Battalion Infantry. He left Eugowra for the last time on the 28th August, 1914.

He fought combat in Gallipoli and was wounded at Lone Pine. As a result, he had the opportunity to return home, due to his thumb being blown off, but was determined to continue to fight. He recovered from his hand injury and influenza in Abbassia Hospital in Cairo in December 1915.  

As the conflict continued on the Western Front, his battalion moved to the region of the Somme and then to Pozieres. The battle of Pozieres took place over 6 weeks, during this time there was 24,140 casualties with 6,741 dead.  Roy Douglas was killed in action in Pozieres, a small village in the north of France in July 1916. Historian Charles Bean stated “that no place on earth was more drenched with Australian blood than Pozieres.”

Roy Douglas is commemorated at the Villiers Bretonneux Memorial in France, which I was privileged enough to visit. This recognition of his service, along with so many more Australians allowed me to have a personal appreciation and respect for the immense sacrifices made by these people.

Roy Douglas received the 1914-1915 Star Medal, The British War Medal and The Victory Medal, which today I proudly wear replicas of. Roy’s Parents received the World War 1 next of kin memorial plaque, also known as the “Dead Man’s Penny”, acknowledging that ‘he died for freedom and honour.’

I was fortunate enough to travel with my family to Europe and visit northern France an area where many Australian conflicts took place. Throughout our experience we came to know the extent to which ANZACs fought to save communities from the terror of the First World War.

It was an extraordinary and chilling experience to walk upon the same land that our ANZACs did. In Pozieres, there is a section of land that is Australian soil due to the enormous amount of Australian blood shed in order to protect the community.

Whilst visiting the “Le Tommy Café”, which is situated on top of a battlefield in Pozieres, we discovered an honour role of all ANZAC’s that died in the Battle of Pozieres. The owner has made it his mission to have all families return to the death place of their family members and marks off each soldier whose family has returned to the battlefields.

The ‘Victoria School’ in Villiers Bretonneux has a sign in the playground reading “never forget Australia”, illustrating the immense gratitude these people feel for what the ANZAC’s had sacrificed.

One cemetery close to the battlefields in Pozieres was for the bodies of unknown soldiers. There was an opportunity to adopt a grave and create recognition and respect for an unknown soldier. We took this opportunity and placed a cross with Roy Douglas’ name and number on it in memory of his life and service for Australia.

I believe it is only through personal experiences that we can truly comprehend the extent of loss and suffering that was faced by the ANZAC’s. I believe Anzac Day to be a highly personal, moving day which enables us as free Australians to reflect on the sacrifices past service men and women have made. It is a time for us to reconsider our actions, behaviours and attitudes towards others to promote peace in our world.

I strongly encourage both children and adults to take advantage of the Eugowra Museum as well as talk to some of the historians in our local community. There are so many resources available today that can allow us to have a deeper understanding of war history. Nearly all of us will have some degree of connection to those who fought, died or were injured in The World Wars and other conflicts.