By 5.45am on April 25, 2018, around 350 hardy souls were seated outside the memorial gates at Sutton Public School.

We were blessed with a fine calm morning.

This was (we believe) the first-ever ANZAC Day dawn service at Sutton.

It was a solemn occasion, as it should be.

There was hymn singing, prayers, readings, a poem by its Sutton author, the Last Post and Reveille, laying of wreaths while the bagpiper played, and a short commemorative address.

Pastor (Air Commodore) Royce Thompson led the service and painted a clear picture of the grim conditions that the original ANZACs had to endure.

Then his commentary broadened to include other conflicts.

Finally he brought a local focus by detailing the military career of a Sutton soldier who sadly was killed in battle just two months before peace was declared in 1918.

This dawn service was a unique opportunity to bring together residents from all around the Sutton region.

A bonus was the barbecue breakfast afterwards provided by the Sutton Rural Fire Service, also local poet Peter Cartwright’s reading of his poem Forever at Flanders.

It is clearly not feasible to thank everyone who helped make this service a success.

Many people brought forward their previous experiences to help shape the program.

Nearby organisations also made substantial contributions:

All cash donations at the RFS shed and the bakery (totalling $1155.75) went to Legacy Australia.

In summary, Sutton really did rise to the occasion.

See the April edition of The Sutton Chatter for more details.