By Gabriella Payne
The sun was shining through the autumn leaves as people gathered together around the Upper Beaconsfield cenotaph on Sunday morning.
Although numbers were limited this year due to Covid, hundreds of locals came out to pay their respects to our country’s fallen this Anzac Day, taking a moment to reflect and commemorate in solidarity with one another.
The sea of people, about 400 or so, were woven around the memorial, lining both McBride and Salisbury Roads as they listened intently to the morning’s proceedings.
Eric Chaplin, the president of the Upper Beaconsfield RSL Club, spoke eloquently as he addressed the crowd and thanked everyone for coming along to show their support at the 11am service.
Many emergency service workers were in attendance, including the local CFA and police force, as well as the First Upper Beaconsfield Scout Group, who helped hammer in a row of little white crosses in front of the cenotaph, in tribute to local soldiers who were lost.
Traditions were upheld, with many wreaths being laid by different organisations and a moment of silence saw people, both young and old, bow their heads in memoriam.
Each name on the cenotaph was read aloud, along with the names of the 94 Upper Beaconsfield RSL members who had passed away since the club’s inception in 1951.
As the ceremony drew to an end, Mr Chaplin took to the podium once again to thank all those in attendance, but found himself holding back emotions after the touching tributes.
The crowd stood in solidarity as Mr Chaplin shed a few tears, the emotion rippling throughout.
After the service, Mr Chaplin said that it had been touching to see the “magnificent crowd” gathered before him that morning, especially after a difficult year.
“The real blessing was that we went from a virtual service last year that wasn’t really uplifting, and so to be in front of 400 people, it was very emotional,” Mr Chaplin said.
“We were very happy with the service, it went very well.”
Mr Chaplin said that the Upper Beaconsfield RSL Club’s aim had been to “keep it local and to the point” as it was most important “to remember those who have served” and pay tribute to them.
The service was a beautiful tribute overall, and Mr Chaplin said that while the club were pleased with how it went, it had been disappointing to see restrictions imposed on Anzac Day services yet seemingly not on other events across the state.
“The restrictions meant that we couldn’t have people back to the RSL after the service, just our members and ex-service men and women,” Mr Chaplin said.
“To see the fence around the shrine and the crowds at the MCG, that was disappointing.
The veterans weren’t too happy about that,” he said.
Despite that, Mr Chaplin said that the RSL Club were happy to have held such a successful service, and hoped to be back hosting their usual tributes once again next year.
