The Taupō RSA held its Armistice Day service on Remembrance Sunday.
President Phil Constable says this year is the first year they have shifted the remembrance service away from Armistice Day on November 11 and instead held it on Remembrance Sunday, which is the second Sunday in November.
He says the change is to try and better engage with the community and younger veterans who would normally work during the week.
“Although attendance still wasn’t huge, we did attract about three times as many attendees as we normally would have done when the service has been held on a weekday in the past.”
Mayor John Funnell attended, along with Waikato, King Country and Bay of Plenty RSA District President Jon Broadle.
Padre David Hunter of St Andrews Anglican Church, Taupō, led a rededication of the cenotaph to formally recognise the additional post-WWII theatres of operation that have now been added to the monument, honouring the service of New Zealand’s modern veterans.
This marked the end of almost two years of the RSA led project to upgrade the cenotaph, to reflect the service of modern-day veterans.
The project was entirely funded by the Taupō RSA Trust, with the work being carried out by Nathan from Taupō Monumental as well as Taupō RSA Volunteers.
