A chance to remember: Waurn Ponds Memorial to offer service on the eleventh hour

RESIDENTS across Geelong will observe a minute silence at the eleventh hour of November 11 in schools, RSLs, places of business and more, honouring service personnel who gave their lives in times of war.

Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve Committee secretary/treasurer Jeff Harriott the reserve, located at the corner of Cochranes Road and Waurn Ponds Drive, will host a service which will begin at 10.30am with wreaths and floral tributes to be laid by individuals and community groups.

“Our Remembrance Day service is usually a little bit smaller than our ANZAC Day service, but that’s because it generally falls during the week,” Jeff said.

“However, last year’s Remembrance Day saw between 350 to 400 people attend in our first service following the pandemic, which made for an emotional day.

“This year we hope to see residents and visitors in-person again.”

Jeff’s grandfather Jack, was conscripted into the Army Reserves in 1952, primed to head into the Korean War undertaking his training at Puckapunyal.

Fortunately, Mr Harriott was not to be sent into conflict. Instead, he has made it his mission to honour those who were.

Ever since, Jack has been a stalwart in maintaining the Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve, eventually becoming president of the Memorial’s Committee of Management in 1999.

“People come from miles around to attend ceremonies at the Memorial,” Jack said.

“A lot of the veterans we commemorate here in Waurn Ponds, have relatives living in Melbourne, a big reason for some of the travel, but we see people from other RSLs come down, namely Winchelsea RSL and Anglesea RSL to name a couple.

“We’re also thankful to have a band performing on the day with a rifle salute and a firing of the cannon.

“As a committee, we’re grateful to host a ceremony on Remembrance Day each year.”

The Waurn Ponds Memorial Reserve has been open to residents since the end of World War I in 1919, offering a quiet place to remember lost loved ones for over a century with Geelong acting as a backdrop for the event surrounded by the natural environment.