Honours List awardee speaks at Cowes on Remembrance Day

MORE than 300 people turned out on Remembrance Day in Cowes on Wednesday, November 11 to commemorate the Armistice of 1918 that ended the fighting in World War I, 108 years ago.

Although the war didn't officially end until June 28, 1919, until the signing og the Treaty of Versailles, November 11 is one of the most important days on the memorial calendar because the Armistice came into effect on the ‘11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month’ because that's when the Armistice came into effect.

Guest speaker at the Remembrance Day event in front of the foreshore cenotaph in Cowes, Lieutenant Commander Scott Shipton OAM RAN reminded us of the original reason for Remembrance Day, but more so, stressed how it had become a time to acknowledge the contribution made by service men and women, past and present, in war and in peacetime for the security of Australia and the world.

Commander Shipton’s “devotion to duty” received special recognition by the Governor General in the Australia Day 2026 Honours List (Military Awards), when he received an OAM “for meritorious devotion to duty as the Command Warrant Officer of the Royal Australian Navy Recruit School and HMAS Cerberus”.

As a neighbour of HMAS Cerberus, across Western Port Bay, the Phillip Island RSL has developed a special relationship with the Navy’s premier training establishment and it has continued this year.

Among those to lay wreaths on the day were three Island Ward Councillors of the Bass Coast Shire, Cr Tim O’Brien, Cr Tracey Bell and Cr Ron Bauer.

Cr Bauer, a regular at Anzac Day and Remembrance Day events said it was important that the community continue to support and participate in these important occasions.

“It’s our chance to acknowledge and remember the service and sacrifice of all those service people who have gone before us to secure the lifestyle we enjoy now, and also to show our support for the people who are serving today,” said Cr Bauer.

He said that current conflicts elsewhere in the world made it all the more important to remember the past.

“Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it,” he said.