Remembrance Day is held annually on November 11 to remember those who have died or suffered in war.

Despite the heat, returned service people, students and members of the community turned up to show their respects and lay a wreath at the cenotaph.

Rather than say a speech, mayor Mathew Dickerson read a poem he had penned to mark the occasion.

Isobel Donald from Dubbo South Public School and Scarlett Weeks from Dubbo Christian School also shared their poems with the crowd.

Isobel and Scarlett were chosen by the Dubbo RSL sub-branch as the winners of the Australia, My Country awards. Students enter any form of artwork, visual or written, that captures the spirit of Australia.

Isobel's poem told of the sacrifices made by the soldiers in World War One, their experiences in the trenches, from the nightmares to the bloodshed, and the physical and mental scars they returned home with. She said their sacrifices allowed us to be free today.

Scarlett's poem was about a convict who found love and married.

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