From the very young to the very old, we showed just how important this annual memorial day is to our society, and how determined we are that the service of our soldiers – then and now – won’t ever be forgotten, or taken for granted by a grateful nation.

At the Tamworth march, it was gratifying to see such a mammoth turnout of school students, estimates putting their numbers in the thousands.

Schools have spent the past week, and before the Easter break, studying the Anzacs and what their efforts meant for the nation.

So, on Saturday, it was wonderful to see those classroom lessons brought to life for our youth, as they marched behind veterans from World War II and conflicts since, and the descendents of those first Anzacs.

And as they saw those enormous crowds watching them walk by, they would have understood just how important this day is for the nation, not just on this, the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings, but every year.

These young people are the future of Australia’s Anzac Day commemorations and it’s vital to include them in as many ways as we can.

Just as their parents brought them to Saturday’s marches and services, so it is vital that they see the importance of involving their own children in Anzac Day activities in generations to come.

As those young people marched past on the weekend, it was impossible not to think that many of the high school students weren’t much younger than the men and women who volunteered for duty 100 years ago.

If ever there was a reminder of what our nation lost all those years ago – only to be repeated a few decades later – then that was it.

Saturday will no doubt be a day many of those young people will never forget.

Their participation –  and the enormous crowds which turned out – was the most emphatic thank you we could give to those who have lost their lives fighting for Australia, and those who returned home, but had their lives irrevocably changed. 

Our region salutes you.