The Burleigh Heads RSL Sub Branch members will be out in force this Remembrance Day to mark the 90th anniversary since the end of World War one.

Burleigh Heads RSL Sub Branch President, Mr. Chris Keating, said that Remembrance Day is a special day for veterans and members of the community of all ages to remember the end of World War One and pay our respect to all Australians and allies who gave their lives for our freedom.

1914 just 13 years after Federation, Australia was a fledgling nation with a population of 4,875,325 people. By the end of the First World War in 1918 Australia deployed approximately 330,000 Service personnel overseas, many of the them aged 16 - 30 years. Of these some 59,342 were killed or died of wounds and a further 152,171 were wounded.

This meant that two out of every three were either killed or wounded. Almost every family in Australia was personally affected. One cannot even begin to imagine the horrors of the Somme, which cost the Allies over 60,000 lives in one day.

The Burleigh Heads RSL Sub Branch is expecting a good turn out on this very special day of Remembrance. The then Governor-General Sir William Dean Proclaimed on the 30th October 1997 that Remembrance would be a "Day of Remembrance" and where practicable Australians were asked to observe a minute silence.

"In this 90th anniversary year of the end of WW1, it always significant to bring service generations together on Remembrance Day and pay tribute to the diggers from all the wars: WW1, WWII, Korea, Vietnam through to modern day conflicts such as Iraq, Timor, Afghanistan and those involved in peacekeeping operations."

Burleigh Heads RSL sub-branch was formed on the 3rd January 1939, and celebrated its 69th anniversary this year. The formation almost 25 years after the original landings at Gallipoli was courageous one considering the dark war clouds forming over Europe at that time. The Sub-Branch has remained a strong voice for the Burleigh Heads ex-service community for those 69 years and continues strongly today with a membership of 230 members.

Today, the RSL remains a strong voice for the ADF community and provides vital welfare and advocacy services for returned and current serving members of the Australian Defence Force.