Across the Archdiocese, our Catholic school communities gathered to acknowledge and remember the fallen service men and women who fought bravely for our country.

Holy Trinity Primary School, Curtin, was joined by Defence families of their school community to commemorate ANZAC Day with a special Liturgy. Following the service, Gerard Hogan, a local parishioner, visited the school on his horse, Miss Colombia. Gerard taught the students about the role of the light horse in World War I. He demonstrated how the soldiers would saddle up their horses and use a nosebag to feed them.

Gerard brought with him many items from World War I including, clothing, shoes and tinned food. This showed the students how these items have evolved over time.

At St Joseph’s Primary School, Grenfell, students and staff marched proudly in the ANZAC service organised by Grenfell’s Returned and Services League. School Captains, Genevieve and Charlie, read a moving poem about the ANZAC spirit, titled Yellow Letters by Western Australian poet, Siobhan Timmer and laid a wreath on behalf of the school at the town’s Cenotaph.

Yellow Letters
Siobhan Timmer
Western Australian Poet

When my grandad passed away
We found beneath the floor
A beat up, sturdy wooden box
We’d never seen before

The reason that we found it
Was a floor board out of place
It was sticking out and I tripped up
And landed on my face

I could tell it was important
And I removed it with great care
Grandad loved us all so much
What would he hide down there?

Mum looked surprised as I was
As she opened up the lid
Slowly then, her tears rolled down
As she found out what he hid

Her face had turned from flush to pale
As though she’d seen a ghost
So many yellowed envelopes
He never meant to post.

Mum said that Grandad never wrote
While serving in the war
And all these papers sitting here
She’d never seen before

We sat and read together
Sharing tears and love as well
My grandad never wrote of war
As it was nothing short of hell

He couldn’t say the words out loud
But these letters had ensured
That maybe one day later
We would know what he’d endured

We placed them back into the box
And closed the lid up tight
I felt my grandad was at peace
When I fell asleep that night

For though he never posted them
Those letters got him through
For the final one said ‘War is done!
I’m coming home to you.