Surf Coast Remembrance Day service to go ahead

VICTORIA reaching its 80 per cent double-vaccinated target means that public observances of Remembrance Day in the Surf Coast can go ahead on Thursday.

In Torquay, the Torquay RSL will hold its first service since the imposition of COVID-19 restrictions last year at the recently refurbished memorials at Point Danger from 10.40am.

RSL members who have died during the pandemic will be named and local schoolchildren will lay a wreath for each of them.

“This year, the 11th of November will be a very special time for all Australians, especially the veterans of the Afghanistan war which ended this year,” Torquay RSL president Bob Tyler said.

“At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, people in towns and cities throughout Australia pause to remember the sacrifices made by so many in times of war.

“It is on Remembrance Day, above all other days, that we recall the women and men who, through personal sacrifices, contributed to the evolution and identity of our country, Australia.

“We must never forget how much we owe to them.

“People wearing the red poppy provide a sign that we are not forgetting them.”

In Torquay, poppy sellers are restricted again this year because of COVID-19, but will be at the farmers’ market this Saturday morning and on the street near supermarkets in Torquay and Torquay North until Wednesday, November 10.

Mr Tyler said money raised from the sales would go towards the RSL’s Welfare Fund.

“We would like to see poppies being worn everywhere on Remembrance Day to show that we do remember the sacrifices made and knowing every dollar raised helps ex-service people and their families when they need.”

He said the poppies on sale ranged from $2 to $20.

“Our aim is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to buy a poppy that they can afford.”