As part of their charter and civil service to the Ōpōtiki district, the Ōpōtiki College Cadet Unit organised and took part in a commemoration service for Armistice Day on Tuesday.  

The ceremony comprised the Last Post and Reveille; the Ode and a pause for two minutes of silent reflection on the end of World War I.    

“Remembrance of Armistice Day is significant for our unit, which is one of the oldest in New Zealand and the only one still attached to a school,” cadet unit commander Captain Lorraine Lawson-Barrett said.  

The Ōpōtiki College Cadet Unit acknowledges all who have passed, ex and current serving personnel on this day,” Ms Lawson-Barrett said.

The speaker for the event, Vietnam veteran Reg Taia, set the scene at the Ōpōtiki War Memorial by reminding the small crowd gathered that the Armistice to end World War I was signed 107 years ago, on November 11, 1918.    

The agreement took effect at 11am, thus officially ending the war on the Western Front, “on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.    

“This is the time for us to honour the sacrifice of the fallen,” he said.