THE Ballarat RSL are making final preparations for upcoming Anzac Day services.<\/p>\n
This year there will be a Dawn Service at the Ballarat Cenotaph followed by a gunfire breakfast at the RSL.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe gunfire breakfast dates back to the First World War when the artillery fired day and night so they never had time to have a meal,\u201d said Ballarat RSL president Alan Douglass.<\/p>\n
Later in the day there\u2019ll be a march down Sturt Street, and a service at the Cenotaph afterwards.<\/p>\n
Any veteran who wants to be in the march but cannot walk, can book a wheelchair with the RSL office.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a day where veterans get together and meet their friends,\u201d said Mr Douglass.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important we have an Anzac Day march to keep the legacy up and teach the younger generation what really did happen and the sacrifice our troops, nurses and animals went through.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a time to remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Ballarat RSL was opened in 1920s to provide soldiers with adequate support when they returned home from war.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a returned servicemen league where anyone who has served, or their family, can join up,\u201d said Mr Douglass<\/p>\n
\u201cJust after the First World War they had a meeting in a hotel with some returned servicemen and they formed a committee.<\/p>\n
\u201cA doctor in Lyons Street had a business there and when he died, he gifted it to the Ballarat RSL and we\u2019ve been established ever since<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very important because after the First World War soldiers came back and they had no support whatsoever and what they went through was very difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were told to just carry on in life or just go to the pub and have a few beers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey suffered very badly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince then we\u2019ve had veteran affairs come in and we have advocates for any veteran who needs support.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Douglass said the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnzac Day will never disappear; we have an education officer who goes around to schools and talks about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe younger generation are the ones who will carry on with Anzac Day.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Ballarat RSL are making final preparations for upcoming Anzac Day services. This year there will be a Dawn Service at the Ballarat Cenotaph followed by a gunfire breakfast at the RSL. \u201cThe gunfire breakfast dates back to the First World War when the artillery fired day and night so they never had time to […]<\/p>\n