Ceremony to pay respect to soldiers despite COVID-19

IN AN ordinary year, some 400 people would gather around the Soldier’s Memorial Wall in the Toowoomba Garden of Remembrance for a ceremony before Anzac Day.

IN AN ordinary year, some 400 people would gather around the Soldier's Memorial Wall in the Toowoomba Garden of Remembrance for a ceremony the Sunday before Anzac Day, and the plaques of those who had passed in the preceding 12 months would be unveiled.

But this is no ordinary year.

With restrictions around gatherings meaning the typical ceremony had to be cancelled, another plan was needed.

Deciding to take part in the RSL's Light up the Dawn initiative, Toowoomba Garden of Remembrance manager Elizabeth Gillam said she and her husband Arthur would be there on Anzac Day morning to perform a special ceremony for the hundreds of soldiers whose names are inscribed on the memorial wall.

"The plan is we're going to put a poppy on each plaque and just prior to 6am, we're going to raise the flag to half mast," she said.

"We're going to play The Last Post, raise the flag, play the Reveille, and light the candle."

The candle will remain lit throughout Anzac Day, and later in the day, people are invited to drive past and place a poppy, or a wreath at the wall, if they want to pay their respects.

Mrs Gillam said she was more than happy to pay tribute to the old soldiers on behalf of those who were unable to do so because of the restrictions.