Mrs Edwards' father served in the Medical Corps in World War I, but she said it wasn't until later on in her life she realised what he had been through.
"He signed up for service while working in Pongaroa and was a medic at Passchendaele.
He came home, but what we didn't realise at the time was how shell-shocked he was," she said.
"In 1960 he discovered a lump on his neck and thought it was cancer, but when it was removed it was World War I shrapnel."
Mrs Edwards said her father didn't share his experiences from those war years, but she recalls a time when as a child, she was sick and his words gave her a brief glimpse of what life in the trenches must have been like.
"My father said, 'You're all right, Elizabeth, you haven't seen dysentery like in the trenches'."
June Carr's father, Archibald Frederick Rawston, came to New Zealand in 1912 from England, settled in Napier and when war broke out signed on for New Zealand.
"I grew up on a farm and I remember my father saying, 'You don't know what mud is until you have been on the Somme'," Mrs Carr said. "But like so many, he didn't talk much about the war.
"It amazes me those men and women came home and just got on with their lives despite what they'd been through."
Mrs Carr said they didn't know if children of World War I nurses would turn up at the lunch, but they were hopeful.
The commemoration lunch will begin with a minute's silence, which was very important, both women said.
"This will be a chance to remember those who lost their lives and those who returned," Mrs Edwards said.
There will also be a toast to the Queen and a guest speaker.
Those attending will be given time to speak about their connection to World War I and the Last Post will be played.
Dannevirke RSA commemorative lunch:
Sunday, April 29, at 11.30am at the Dannevirke Services and Citizens Club.
Partners are welcome.
To book ring either June Carr on 06 374-7949 or Liz Edwards on 06 374-7865, by April, 23.
The event is open to Tararua residents whose father or mother was a World War I veteran.