OPINION: Making links in a unique memorial

TECHNOLOGY helps make Remembrance Day 2018 special.

Photo:. Picture: Contributed

GOOGLE searching Warwick can land you in Rhode Island, England or Western Australia if you don't have your GPS turned on.

But having the same name as our beloved Rose City proved lucky for the comm- ittee behind the Warwick Poppies project in the UK.

Having stumbled upon

the story online, the St Mary's Church committee behind the project reached out to us, wanting to connect with Allora women Julie Kawano and Sharlene Gladman to arrange their poppy swap.

Our colonial past means we are inextricably linked with the English town and indeed with the military history that both projects will commemorate.

But a century on from the end of the First World War, the vast advancements in technology have made it possible for these two communities across the world to connect.

While globalisation may have its pitfalls in erasing parochial traditions, this is one instance in which tele- communications have helped to connect us with our past in a truly unique way.

Though their own military ties had been enough to spark their interest in joining Australia's 5000 Poppies, Julie and Sharlene are representing their community proudly on a global stage.

It makes me eager to see the poppy swap unfold so Allora and the two Warwicks may commemorate their fallen together.

Sophie Lester, reporter