Lyle Haste, drum major of the pipe band wears the medals awarded to a man who died in 1915. Photo / Leanne Warr
lw20220425nigel Nigel Brewin, with the pocket watch sent to his great-grandfather's widow. Photo / Leanne Warr
Lyle Haste once bought a box of rusty bolts at a clearing sale from a farm in Dannevirke.
In amongst those bolts were medals, awarded to a man who lost his life in World War I.
No one really knows who George William Pierce was, other than that he came to New Zealand from Bristol and worked on a dairy farm.
He was 34 when he was killed in July 1915 and buried at sea.
But Haste said he wore the medals at the Anzac service in honour of the man, and in the hope of finding someone, a family member, who could claim those medals.
As far as he knew, Pierce had a sister but Haste is yet to find a family member.
Nigel Brewin, a former warrant officer with the New Zealand Defence Force, who now lives in Dannevirke, offered a different perspective at the Civic Service.
He said like many who came to the services he would hear the Ode of Remembrance.
"At which point we'll say ... we will remember them. What does this mean?"
As a teenager he went to his first service and heard those words and thought, "how can I remember them? I don't even know them."
He said he had a story which he hoped would resonate with a few as well as answer the question for many others.
His great-grandfather, John Joseph Brewin, went to war in 1916 and didn't come home - he died of his wounds in a hospital in France.
The only thing that came back out of his belongings was a pocket watch, which Brewin said might have been given to the family by an officer.
They had nothing to remember him by, he said.
"No one in the family ever made it to France to visit the grave. It was just too much to bear."
Years later, Brewin would take his father to France to visit the grave.
"I pulled out my great-grandfather's medals and placed them on the grave. It was at this point that my father, ice cool, unbreakable warrior that he was ... broke into tears.
"It was at this point that I understood what 'we will remember them' means."
Brewin went on to talk about serving in the army and his roommate who lost his life in South West Africa.
He said it had been 35 years since his friend's death, but he still remembered him.
"The point of my experience that I've shared with you today is that you don't have to have known the fallen to remember them."
Both the dawn service and the civic service were well-attended by people in Dannevirke.
Captain Richard Short, president of the Dannevirke and Districts RSA, opened the dawn service with a special acknowledgement of the only remaining veteran of World War Two, Ivan (Bonny) Bodley.
Each service included a prayer and dedication by Reverend Jinny Kean, who said Anzac Day was an acknowledgement of the costs of war.
It was the 106th anniversary of the first Anzac Day, she said.
"The day that our nation remembers all those who have served in the defence of our country during times of war."
She said it was not a glorification of war but a time when the nation remembered with gratefulness and respect those who had lost their lives in war.
Many young men from the Tararua district had answered the call to defend "King and Country".
"Sadly, many did not return."
Captain Short pointed out to the teenagers the Field of Remembrance, telling them that most of the crosses were of those who had been privates and there were very few high ranking.
"It is so often the privates that sacrifice themselves for their society in the highest numbers. Society asks you to stand at the front line of conflict as you are young and fit and free of the burdens of life.
"For this reason, you must learn our history," he told them.
He urged the young to learn from their elders.
"We all must remember that war is a horrific event, powerful enough that it can draw us together 100 years later in commemoration. We must be careful in dealing with war, as future wars will be no less horrific."
He told the crowd there were some service personnel deployed to eight locations around the world and some of them would be away from their families for more than nine months.
There were 57 service personnel in Europe supporting the efforts in the war in Ukraine.
Short said there were millions of people in Ukraine who were now homeless as a result of the war.
"We must do our bit, and it starts with remembering."
Wreaths were laid underneath the Cenotaph by the council, schools, police, the fire service and other community organisations.
Commemorations began with the Mane Men playing Anzac songs at the Dannevirke Lion's Den on Saturday.
The Dannevirke services were only two of several being held across the Tararua district.