The event commemorated 102 years since 150 young men from the Guyra District left to join the 33rd Battalion AIF, the First Light Horse Brigade, and other battalions in WWI.

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Councillor Diane Gray gave the official welcome on behalf of the Armidale Regional Council.

“Today is a special day to pay respect to the many brave, unselfish men and women who went into battle for a safer world for us,” she said. “They fought for what they believed was worth fighting for: freedom. 

“This is a time to be grateful for the difference the Anzacs made. Make it a day of appreciation.”

Hans Hietbrink, President of the Guyra RSL sub-branch, said: “We look back in awe at those young Anzacs at Gallipoli,”

“The Anzac story invites us to take this rich, bold heritage and make it part of our own story, to add the spirit of courage and giving to our lives as we seek to live and work for the common good of our community.”

Flight Lt Laura Haws, from First Squadron RAAF at Amberley, gave the commemorative address.

“It is the legacy left by our Anzacs, and their incredible bravery, which helps to remove my uncertainty [about being deployed abroad]. It fills me with the courage to fight for the values and beliefs of all the brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, and all those left at home.”

The 337 Squadron Australian Air Force cadets, also from Amberley, served as catafalque bearers.

An F-18 Super Hornet from Amberley flew overhead, commemorating the crash of an F-111 near Guyra in 1993. 

The Rev. Mark Evers, vicar at St James’ Church, conducted the prayers.

Students from the Black Mountain Primary School, St Mary of the Angels School, Guyra Central School, and Bald Blair Primary School prayed for remembrance, freedom, the Australian defence force, and peace.

Among those present were WWII veterans Ted Mulligan, 101, who served in the Light Horse, and writer Ron Vickress, ex-Navy.