POW event online for 2021

FOR the first time since 2004, the trustees of Ballarat’s Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial decided to cancel their annual memorial service in its physical form.

Due to the uncertainty of the pandemic and the corresponding restrictions currently in place, the service projected for February 2021 will be delivered virtually.

The trustees, including Bill Bahr, David Stewart, Ray Mende, Jason Bahr, Rev John Furness and Padre Margaret Benoit, considered a range of factors including the risk of illness, scale of the service, limitations on the Navy Band and security requirements in deciding against an in-person service.

The service will go virtual thanks assistance from POW master of ceremonies and WIN newsreader Bruce Roberts and photographer and president of Ballarat Legacy Jeremy Bannister, who made a video as part of the wider ANZAC Day driveway service effort this year.

The 2021 POW memorial event, the team have locked in Megan Spencer as guest speaker and the Navy Band to play via the internet.

Funded in part by the City of Ballarat, the POW memorial team are happy to present a new approach to the Anniversary Service.

The service is currently set for 11am on Sunday, 14 February via YouTube. For more details visit, powmemorialballarat.com.au.