A century ago, Australian soldiers danced in the streets celebrating the end of what was then the bloodiest war the world had even seen – “the war to end all wars.”
Of the Australian population of five million in 1918, 300,000 young men went to war. More than two thirds of soldiers were casualties of the war while 62,000 Australian soldiers died and 156,000 were wounded or taken prisoner.
Every year since and in this, the 100th anniversary of Remembrance Day or Armistice Day as it was once known, one minute’s silence is held at 11am to commemorate the ceasefire which took effect at 11am on November 11, 1918.
In British author Sir Evelyn Wrench’s, ‘Struggle’, 1914-1918 in They Saw it Happen 1897-1940 (compiled by Asa Briggs), he documents the Australian celebrations in London following the end of World War I.
“In Victoria Street a group of Australian ‘boys’ accompanied by a band and their girls decorated in red, white and blue, were swinging down towards Whitehall to the huge delight of all spectators … In Whitehall we got blocked, but what did it matter?
We danced on the buses, we danced on the lorries, we danced on the pavement, we shouted, we sang … the office boys and girls at the War Office yelled to their companions across the way; we cheered and cheered again and again, while the Church bells rang out a peal of jubilation.”
That feeling of joy, relief and gratitude for the men and women who served Australia is experienced in local remembrance ceremonies all over the country.
There are many events in Sydney which will commemorate the great contribution veterans have made to our country in all conflicts. For information on events taking place in Sydney, click here.
Here at Oxley Home Care, we celebrate and honour our veterans and the veterans home care service we provide is second to none.
Veterans Home Care
Oxley Home Care is contracted by the Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) to provide Veterans Home Care and DVA Community Nursing Services to clients living in the Sydney metropolitan area.
Veterans’ Home Care (VHC) is designed to assist veterans, war widows and widowers with low level care needs, enabling them to remain in their own homes for longer, avoiding premature admission to residential care. The VHC program is part of the DVA home care plan to ensure veterans and war widow/widowers (entitled persons) maintain optimal health, wellbeing and independence.
The DVA also provides veterans and war widows/widowers (entitled persons) with access to a range of quality health care and related services, including community nursing services, at the DVA’s expense. You must have an assessment by a VHC assessor who will discuss your circumstances to identify the range of services that may be needed. Most assessments are done over the phone, however if a VHC assessor determines that an in-home assessment may be of more benefit, they will arrange a time and day suitable to you. To contact a VHC assessor directly, call 1300 550 450.
Please feel free to call Oxley Home Care to find out more information about Veterans’ Home Care on 1800 221 039.
