At 10am the march began led by the Feilding Scottish Pipe Band. After the laying of wreaths, the gun salute and the Last Post, everyone that could filed into the Apiti Hall to partake in a memorable service led by Anglican minister Heather Hirschberg. There was a speaker system outside as well for those that couldn’t get into the Hall. Faulding’s Electrical, as usual, did a wonderful job of setting up the sound system. Newly appointed Apiti RSA president Roger McIntyre opened the service with Mayor Margaret Kouvellis being the guest speaker. Bridget Hogan and Emma Wells read letters from two Apiti soldiers- one from WW1 and the other from WW2. Bridget was a direct descendant of the WW1 soldier, John Stewart McIntyre, and Emma has lived at Umutoi from where the WW2 soldier originated. They were both sobering letters with one returning and the other not. The children from the school sang 3 songs from the WW2 era and did a great job.

After the service ended, the Apiti ladies put on a grand morning tea of the usual sweet morsels and heaps of tasty sandwiches. It was great for a catch up and reminisce with friends and family.

Lunchtime was held in the Apiti Tavern with a huge free potluck lunch. Army members were put to good use manning the BBQ - the meat being supplied by local farmers. Their cooking skills were second to none. The whole day was a credit to the organizational skills of the local RSA members headed up by Roger McIntyre and Pat Prince.