Anzac Day: Williams community gathers to pay tribute

Despite a cold morning, about 100 Williams locals gathered at the Williams RSL at 8am on April 25 to commemorate Anzac Day.

Shire of Williams president Jarrad Logie led the ceremony and welcomed the community before Vern Sattler from the Anglican church and Janette Liddelow from the Catholic church came forward to deliver a prayer.

Following a group reading of Lest We Forget, Williams Primary School Leaders Elsie Ford, Evie Macnamara, Jake Hardie and Gretel Tinley stood at the podium and read a poem dedicated to the memory of the Anzacs.

Elsie then paid tribute to her grandfather, the late Neale Francis Ford of the Royal Australian Navy by delivering a moving speech that described the events that led to the outbreak of World War I and the influence it had on Williams’ farming families.

Following the wreath-laying and the Ode, the assembly stood together and sang the Australian National Anthem before retiring to the RSL hall to enjoy a cuppa and a biscuit.