By Mikayla van Loon
As the patron of the armed services and all emergency services, Queen Elizabeth II was honoured in a number of memorial services held by RSL’s and CFA’s on Monday 19 September.
Lilydale CFA volunteers, alongside Lilydale RSL members and passersby paid tribute to the late Queen by laying flowers at the Main Street cenotaph.
First lieutenant Tony Brock said it was a privilege to be able to lay the wreath on behalf of his brigade.
“We were just pleased we could join in,” he said.
Being able to get a bunch of flowers that resembled those that laid atop the Queen’s coffin at her funeral, Mr Brock said “it was just perfect.”
Although the patron of over 600 charities, Mr Brock said Queen Elizabeth had quite a history with the Lilydale CFA, particularly during the 1954 visit to the area.
Mr Brock said at that time the Cave Hill rail crossing had no fencing, so instead CFA members had to line the train tracks blocking onlookers from falling onto the rail line.
“It was our duty to honour her,” he said.
The late Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip was also taken out on a Lilydale Rural fire truck to help fight a fire just over 11km away from the township when he visited in 1967.
“We, as a brigade, are going to write to King Charles III to invite him to Lilydale, if he wants to follow in his father’s footsteps,” Mr Brock said.
With RSL secretary Chris Newell reading facts and stories about the Queen, Mr Brock said it was a rather emotional day for the service men and women in attendance.
“It was a pretty hard day for those veterans because they fought under her and many people, some of them friends, died for Queen and country.”
While not broadly advertised that a memorial was happening because of the rather last minute decision, Mr Brock said many people from nearby businesses and people walking Main Street “stopped when they heard the sound of the bugle.”
“It was our community, our Lilydale community, who really cared and loved her.
“The Lilydale community acknowledged and paid their respects. She never put a foot wrong, she was outstanding.”
Later that evening, Mount Evelyn RSL hosted a memorial service at dusk, where piper Iain Townsley and bugler Tom Steele played airs and laments, as well as the Last Post respectively.
“Iain then went on to perform a number of impromptu requests from some of the Mt Evelyn residents that attended.
“It was a simple mark of respect by our community to a remarkable lady, a giant among others, the greatest diplomat and stateswoman of them all.”
