More than 50 veterans, ex-service personnel and serving men and women came together to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Cowra RSL Sub-Branch.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The evening began with a small ceremony at the Cenotaph in Brisbane Street.
Cowra RSL sub-Branch President Jono Webber presided over the service, telling the stories of those who returned to Cowra after fighting in WW1.
“As we reflect and pay respect at all memorial services and think of the sacrifices, hardship and loss of life, we can also think of those that returned and, for many, the battles and memory of war continue,” Mr Webber said.
“In 1918 at this time of year, the war was still continuing. Heroes were returning home to Cowra.
“In the Cowra Free Press, it was recorded on April 20, 1918, that Private Alex Ellis of the 35th Battalion and Lance Corporal “Aub” Kelly of the 22th Battalion arrived home that day.
“On page three of the same edition, the Red Cross Society welcomed home Sister Hilda Miller of the 2nd Australian General Hospital from active service in Egypt and France.
“It was reported in the April 27, 1918 edition that some 50 returned heroes gathered in front of the Council chambers with an equal amount of Red Cross ladies for a march on Anzac Day.”
Mr Webber said it was these returned soldiers who founded the Cowra sub-Branch.
“These were the same veterans that came together to form and start the Cowra sub-Branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia NSW Branch, now known as the Returned and Services League of Australia,” she said.
Wreaths were then laid by Graham O’Neill, Russell Peters, Tony Mooney OAM and Frank Bridges.
A dinner was then held at the Cowra Services Club, with NSW RSL Vice President Mick Bainbridge as the special guest for the evening.
Mr Webber said the sub-Branch has been an important point of call for all of Cowra’s veterans and believes the group is going from strength to strength.
“With an increasing veteran community, the importance of ex service organisations such as the RSL is as strong as it was in 1918,” he said.
“The past 100 years in the sub-Branch is full of history and personal stories with membership ages from the youngest at 22 years up to 103 years old at present.”
