A LARGE crowd of residents from around the region gathered at the Bodangora War Memorial on Sunday to pay tribute at an Anzac service.
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Trevor Munro, the author of Wellington's Finest, which pays tribute to local men and women who had fallen, revisited the memories of the brave men who had gone into battle at far away places.
"As early as 1899 many militia men from the districts stepped forward to serve in South Africa during the Boer War," he said.
Bodangora's contribution to the Great War is evident, with many of the men listed on the memorial seeing service at Gallipoli.
Wellington sent nearly as many men and women overseas during World War II, despite those men having been aware of the sacrifice that had been made a generation earlier.
"Wellington has continued to have men and women in uniform serving through later campaigns such as Korea, Vietnam, Timor Afghanistan and Iraq, many like myself serving our country in a peace-time army," Mr Munro told a large crowd.
"However, this year it is fitting that we remember those that appear on this Great War memorial. Over the previous years many of those who died in combat or from disease overseas have been the focus of Bodangora's Anzac day activities. This year, with the help of the students present I'd like to look at those soldiers that safely returned to Australia, having played their part in the Great War."
Dubbo resident Joy Stroud went to the service to honour a member of her family, Jack Cooper, who is listed on the Monument. She was one of a large group of people from Dubbo who attended the service.
Rob Wood came from the Central Coast to honour his grandfather's brother, Albert Wright, who fought in World War I.
"I am very proud to be here today," Mr Wood said.
The monument is dedicated to 47 men from Bodangora who fought in World War I and since 2011, when the monument was rededicated, an annual service has been held
Local students and members of the community laid cards with the names of those who had fought.