The Huge Movement To Commemorate Anzac Day In Your Driveway Started With This Veteran’s Facebook Post
On March 16, he was chatting with fellow veteran and friend, Bill Sowry, about the cancellation of this year’s Anzac Day commemorations due to mandatory social distancing. James had heard from other veterans who were lamenting the loss of the ceremonies.
James told BuzzFeed News he recognised the need to avoid public gatherings — “We’ve got a lot of Korean and Vietnam vets who wouldn’t do too well if the virus went through them” — but both he and Sowry wanted to come up with a way to commemorate the day.
“Bill made a comment saying there’s a raft of other things we could do,” James said. “We came up with the idea of doing a moment of silence in our driveway.”
Later, James expanded on the idea, creating a short run sheet for DIY ceremonies with links to YouTube videos, and posted to his personal Facebook page.
“Here’s a brilliant idea for ANZAC Day from a conversation between Bill Sowry (an EX CO 3 CER) and myself,” he wrote on March 16.
On March 16, he was chatting with fellow veteran and friend, Bill Sowry, about the cancellation of this year’s Anzac Day commemorations due to mandatory social distancing. James had heard from other veterans who were lamenting the loss of the ceremonies. James told BuzzFeed News he recognised the need to…
