Divisions, First Australian Imperial Force,

were plodding wearily along the roads near Le

Cateau, France.

They were to relieve the British 32nd and 66th

Divisions in the front line. Two months previously,

these same Australians had fought their way across

the Somme in some of the most fierce battles of the

war. They did not, however, go into action again.

At 11am on November 11, 1918 the guns fell

silent as hostilities ceased on the Western Front,

ending four years of death and destruction.

Earlier that day, at 5am, the Germans signed an

armistice in a railway carriage at Compiègne. In the

following year the Treaty of Versailles made the

ceasefire permanent.

People celebrated across the world. Others

reflected with great sadness the extraordinary

losses and suffering from many nations. More than

60,000 Australians had been killed. More than

45,000 died on the Western Front in France and

Belgium and over 8,000 on the Gallipoli Peninsula

in Turkey. Over 416,000 Australians volunteered for

service in World War I, of which 324,000 served

overseas.

In Australia and in those countries with whom

Australia was allied between 1914 and 1918,

November 11 subsequently became known as

Armistice Day. It was a day on which to remember

those who died in the Great War.

After the end of World War II, the Australian and

British governments changed the name to

Remembrance Day. Armistice Day was no longer

an appropriate title for a day which would

commemorate all war dead.

In October 1997, the Governor-General issued a

proclamation declaring November 11 as

Remembrance Day and urging Australians to

observe one minute's silence at 11am on

Remembrance Day each year to remember the

sacrifice of those who died or otherwise suffered in

Australia’s cause in wars and war-like conflicts.

The proclamation reinforced the importance

the Government places on Remembrance Day and

encouraged all Australians to renew their

observation of the event.