Anzac Day 2021 Dawn Service held at Launceston Cenotaph

Hundreds gathered in the pre-dawn conditions. Many had served or were currently reservists, veterans bringing their children and grandchildren - all remembering and paying tribute to the significant service by our defence personnel.

Launceston RSL sub-branch president, retired Lieutenant Colonel Peter Williams welcomed people to the service, reflecting on what Anzac Day meant to him.

"It is absolutely wonderful to see so many of you here after last year's postponement ... to see so many come out and pay their respects for those that have gone before us," he said.

"It's a chance to say thank you to those brave men and women who gave their lives so we can live in a country that is free.

"There are so many people here today and so many younger people, that we will keep this tradition going".

Guest speaker Major Dan Ritchie reflected on wars past.

"I'm an army reservist, I'm not a war hero, I haven't been shot at, I haven't been deployed overseas - but it is my immense privilege to be here with you," he said.

"As I reflect on the service of the sons and daughters of Australia over the last century plus, of the Royal Australian Navy, Army and Air Force, I think about the first and second world wars, the Malayan emergency, Korea, Vietnam, Rwanda, East Timor, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Solomon Islands, Sudan and so many other places around the globe.

"War fighting operations, peace stability operations, humanitarian and disaster response operations - I think about the sacrifice and the service of the many fine Australians both now and before me, and I marvel at the country I am able to live in, the blessing that it is and the opportunities that are there."

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Major Ritchie also spoke about the often unseen cost of the war, the mental toll it takes on soldiers.

"I think about those that did come home after their service, but are forever changed physically or psychologically," he said.

"I lament the fact that so many veterans are still battling with post traumatic stress - it's a demon that continues to haunt them.

"I consider the fact that whilst 41 Australian soldiers were killed in Afghanistan over the last 20 years, in that same time period nearly three times as many at least have taken their own life."

Launceston College student Lilly Spotswood spoke about her family connections to war, and the importance of sharing stories down through the generations, to ensure service and sacrifice were never forgotten.

Chaplain Vic Hinds led the reading and the prayer, reading from Ecclesiastes 44: 1-3, 13-14.

"Let us now sing the praises of famous men, our ancestors in their generations. The Lord apportioned to them great glory, his majesty from the beginning. There were those who ruled in their kingdoms, and made a name for themselves by their valour," he said.

"Their offspring will continue for ever, and their glory will never be blotted out. Their bodies are buried in peace, but their name lives on generation after generation."

The Last Post rang out across Launceston, with final speeches and the Benediction performed before the crowd dispersed - some to partake in a tot of rum nearby, others towards a breakfast at the RSL

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