Early Anzac Day For Sarah

April 2, 2021

A young woman’s cherished dream of leading Kingaroy’s annual Anzac Day march has almost come true, thanks to the Kingaroy-Memerambi RSL Sub-Branch.

On Wednesday, RSL veterans and staff at Endeavour’s Kingaroy Kitchen held a mini-parade and a flag presentation ceremony outside the Endeavour building in Kingaroy Street.

The parade may have surprised passing motorists, but it was the culmination of a dream Sarah Armstrong despaired of ever achieving.

Sarah has worked at the Kingaroy Kitchen for 15 years, and began asking the RSL a few years ago if she could be a flag-bearer in the annual parade.

Last year the Sub-Branch agreed to her request, but was forced to withdraw the offer at the last minute when the pandemic cancelled public Anzac Day commemorations.

But Sarah was undeterred by this set-back and put in her request again.

And she was over the moon in early March when she received a letter from Sub-Branch president Don Davey confirming she would lead the 2021 parade as the chief flag-bearer.

In his letter, Don warned Sarah the parade covered a distance of about 1.5km, so she’d best be prepared.

Sarah immediately began to practice for the big day, marching in her off-duty hours carrying a broomstick so she could practice holding a flag as well.

However, her dream appeared to be shattered again when a sudden change in family circumstances meant she will have to move to Adelaide before April 25 to live with her sister.

When Sarah notified the Sub-Branch about this, she was clearly heart-broken.

So on Wednesday, several RSL veterans oversaw a special mini-Anzac Day parade outside Endeavour so Sarah could proudly march in memory of the Anzacs.

Then they presented her with the flag she had carried as a keepsake, exactly the same as if she had marched in the official parade.

The ceremony was followed by a morning tea.

  Kingaroy