A few hundred people rose before the sun to attend the second Dawn Service at the Churchman Brook Community Centre, hosted by the Bedfordale CWA branch.
Branch President Penny Stapleton read out a letter that Bedfordale digger Frank Dowell had sent home from the front to his beloved mother.
He was one of 10 locals from the town that made the ultimate sacrifice during World War 1.
His relative, Kaylene Larkman watched on at the Dawn Service, and laid a wreath in his honour.
Three generations of the Stevens family also attended to pay tribute to William (Bill) Stevens who was injured on the front, but thankfully made his way home to Bedfordale.
Military support personnel from HMAS Stirling helped give the service gravitas as the catafalque party, while a large number of community members laid wreaths, poppies and sprigs of rosemary.
And the bacon and egg rolls complete with a tot of rum were gratefully received by the hungry masses afterwards.
President Penny Stapleton said feedback on their second annual Dawn Service from those in attendance was “very encouraging”.
“We were blown away this year with the support given to us from the community,” she said.
“A lot of people also donated finances towards the day, including the Bendigo Bank who were our major sponsor and helped us greatly.
“And so many have offered to come on board for next year’s service, which is fantastic, as we’d love to have more community members be a part of it.”
The request to build a permanent war memorial at the Churchman Brook Community Centre is currently with the City of Armadale, and Penny is hopeful that by next year, there will be a bespoke new stone monument for the community to reflect at.
“Several local stonemasons, engineers and construction workers have offered stone and their services free of charge,” she said.
“So, we’re really looking forward to seeing how this new tradition evolves.”
