Like ANZAC Day, Remembrance Day is a time when many of us acknowledge and reflect on those who have served our country and fought so bravely to protect the precious freedoms that we enjoy as 21st century Australians. This year’s Remembrance Day ceremonies were particularly poignant, marking 100 years since the guns fell silent on the Western Front and WW1 came to an end.

I had the honour of attending the military service and thanksgiving for Major General Gordon Maitland AO OBE RFD ED at St James Church in Sydney. General Maitland, who passed away on 17 October, at the age of 92, was Australia’s last surviving senior soldier, and later senior officer, from WWII. He was a “doyen” of the veteran community who dedicated the past three decades of his life to assisting veterans and their organisations. In the eulogy commemorating General Maitland’s life of service, Major General Paul Brereton drew on the words of the great Roman orator Cicero, who wrote, “the life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living”.

As each year passes, as the memories fade and the parade of veterans grows ever smaller, we are faced with a major challenge – to ensure that the significance and impact of the sacrifices made by those servicemen and women, is not erased from our nation’s collective memory.

Many members of the legal profession gave up the law to become soldiers. Some never returned home. In 2016, the Law Society unveiled an Honour Roll, marking the service of NSW solicitors, articled clerks and law students who were killed in action in WWI. This Honour Roll covers country and city solicitors and includes men who were solicitors at the time of their enlistment and those who were admitted afterwards – in total, 286 men, of whom 20 died in service. The roll includes details of medals for distinguished service and identifies those who died. It also lists law clerks, articled clerks and law students who died in the service of their country.

Historian and author Tony Cunneen wrote an outstanding article for the LSJ which salutes the contribution of the legal profession to the Great War and commemorates the 100th anniversary of its ending. It is a compelling read.

Later today, the Supreme Court will commemorate the sacrifice and service of the NSW Legal Profession in World War 1 with a Remembrance event in the Banco Court at 5.15pm. It will include an introduction by the Chief Justice, the Hon Tom Bathurst AC. I encourage members to attend and hear the stories of just some of the lawyers who served in the Great War.

It is, I believe, incumbent on all of us to ensure that the stories of our servicemen and women, including those from the legal profession, are not lost to the past, and that we continue to honour their memory and to reflect on the sacrifices they made, now and for generations to come.

Doug Humphreys
Law Society President 2018
Twitter:  @LSNSW_President

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