Bathurst RSL Sub Branch president David Mills thanked Rear Admiral Dalton for travelling from Canberra to deliver the address.

“We’re extremely lucky to have this gentlemen speaking to us today, for it’s not often you get a gentleman who is selected for both the army and the navy for officer training,” he said.

Rear Admiral Dalton grew up in Melbourne and found Anzac Day was a time to acknowledge the contributions of his grandfather, who spent three years on HMAS Brisbane during World War 1. 

Rear Admiral Dalton referred to his grandfather in his address, painting a picture of what it was to be an Anzac.

“Today we remember young men like him and honour their service,” he said. 

The 436 servicemen from Bathurst who did not return home from World War 1 were commended for their bravery in sacrificing their lives for their country.

“It is perhaps inevitable that the passage of time over the last century has softened our memory of war,” Rear Admiral Dalton said.

“It is only natural to put the awfulness of such brutal struggle out of our mind, to downplay the losses, to distance the grief. But the truth about our Anzac heritage is that, in honouring it, we are continuing to hold dear in our hearts the memories of all those who have served and sacrificed.”