THE Phillip Island RSL Sub-branch is reminding everyone that their Remembrance Day service actually starts at 10.45am on Tuesday, November 11, not at 11am, so that the preliminaries can take place prior to the ‘Minute’s Silence’ promptly at 11am.

This commemorates the official cessation of war at the 11th hour, of the 11th day on November 11, 1918 when the guns finally fell silent at the end of World War 1.

Early on November 11th, the Germans met the Allies near Paris to sign an Armistice ending the fighting. The agreement set at 11:00am Paris time as the moment the truce would begin - the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

The fighting continued until the last possible moment. As a result, there were 10,944 casualties, including 2738 deaths, on the war’s last day. Most occurred within a period of three hours. The last soldier to be killed in World War 1 was Henry Gunther, an American of German descent, who was killed just 60 seconds before the guns fell silent. That’s war.

Remembrance Day in Cowes is traditionally not as big an event as ANZAC Day but there is some prospect of an RAAF flyover this year. Watch for confirmation closer to the day.

In the meantime, the community is encouraged to buy a poppy or badge to contribute to veterans’ welfare.

In Australia and other countries of the Commonwealth, the red poppy is recognised as the commemorative flower of remembrance, acknowledging that it still managed to grow ‘in Flanders fields’ at the height of the conflict.

Frenchwoman Anna Guérin, who made artificial flowers, first sold poppies in Britain in 1921. She is known as the 'Originator of the Poppy Day'. Guérin raised money in support of veterans and the families of those who had died during World War 1.