Those wishing to commemorate the end of World War I should note this year’s Armistice Day service will be held on Sunday, November 8 (Remembrance Sunday) at the Taupō Cenotaph, says Taupō Returned Services Association president Phil Constable.
Traditionally the service would usually be held on Wednesday, November 11, in keeping with the cessation of hostilities which took effect at 11am “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month” of 1918, following the signing of an armistice between the Allies and Germany – a precursor to the formal peace agreement of the Treaty of Versailles.
Constable says that the RSA hopes the change will allow the organisation to better engage with younger veterans who may be working during the week.
The remembrance ceremony will begin at 10:50am, at the Taupō cenotaph, and run for approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
Part of the ceremony will be a rededication of the cenotaph which has been upgraded to include 21 additional operational theatres of service that the New Zealand Defence Force has served in since the end of WWII.
Members of the Taupō Concert Band and Taupō Brass will be on hand to play 'God Save the King' and 'God Defend New Zealand'.
Constable says that following the ceremony, everyone is invited back to the Taupō RSA (Taupō Bowling Club) where an L5 105mm Pack Howitzer used by New Zealand forces in Vietnam will be on static display, as well as a screening of ‘Afghanistan: The Soldiers Story’, to acknowledge 25 years since the NZDF began operations in Afghanistan.
Finger food, tea, and coffee will be provided, and the bar will be open.
