LEST WE FORGET

Anzac Day

Between 2014 and 2018 Australia will commemorate the Anzac Centenary, marking 100 years since our nation’s involvement in the First World War.

The Anzac Centenary is a milestone of special significance to all Australians. The First World War helped define us as a people and as a nation.

During the Anzac Centenary we will remember not only the original Anzacs who served at Gallipoli and the Western Front, but commemorate more than a century of service by Australian servicemen and women.

The Anzac Centenary Program encompasses all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations in which Australians have been involved. 

The Program aims to give all Australians the opportunity to honour the service and sacrifice of all those who have worn our nation’s uniform, including the more than 102,000 who have made the supreme sacrifice.

It also aims to encourage all Australians to reflect upon and learn more about Australia’s military history, its costs and its impacts on our nation.

Byford has a rich military history with many local streets being named after war ships (HMAS Diamantina, HMAS Benalla), artillery (Enfield rifles, Howitzer artillery guns) and local servicemen and women whose names can be found on Byford’s war memorial such as Bevis, Briggs, Mead and Thatcher- just to name a few.

In 1942-43, an armament depot was established at Byford that was subsequently expanded to cater for mines and gunnery equipment. The site was probably chosen because it was sufficiently far from the coast to be safe from seaborne attack, and because rail access was available.

In 1981, the depot was closed and operations were transferred to a new Armament Depot at Garden Island. The site where the Byford armament depot was located is now the site of the “Byford on the Scarp” housing estate.

For those interested, a chronology of the Royal Australia Navy Depot at Byford can be found at http://users.tpg.com.au/borclaud/ranad/chronology_byford.html

For information on local dawn services, contact the Serpentine-Jarrahdale RSL on (08)9526 2846