On 11 November 1918, the guns of the Western Front fell silent after four years of continuous warfare.
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With their armies retreating and close to collapse, German leaders signed an Armistice, bringing to an end the First World War.
The Australian Corps had achieved a fighting reputation out of proportion to their numbers, but victory had come at a heavy cost.
In the four years of the war more than 330,000 Australians had served overseas, and more than 60,000 of them had died.
The social effects of these losses cast a long shadow over the postwar decades. (Australian War Memorial)
At 11am on November 11 across the region, we will stop to remember the sacrifices made at all wars, the lives we've lost and the legacies that endure.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.
Bronwyn Wheeler - Kempsey
Kempsey ex-servicewoman Bronwyn Wheeler was a trailblazer for women in a male-dominated environment.
After spending 35 years in the military, and reaching the highly respected rank of Colonel, Bronwyn is an inspiration to women of all ages around the country.
She has worked in a range of roles including the director of Defence Force nursing, command health officer for the Army, and represented Australia as the senior gender advisor in a NATO division in Afghanistan.
Bronwyn has a highly decorated career that all started on a whim.
Matt Campbell - Nambucca Valley
"People spend their whole lives training to represent their countries and I got to do that every single day for the last 20 years, I would go back in a heartbeat if the need arose."
Rising to the rank of sergeant, Matt Campbell was deployed all over Australia, Darwin, Townsville, Brisbane, Sydney, Armidale and Coffs harbour.
He also saw deployment overseas, including over four years in warzones in East Timor, the Solomon Islands and Afghanistan.
He saw some of the best and worst humanity had to offer, but he says the most significant takeaway from the experience was the friendships he made along the way.
Darcy Elbourne - Taree
"Lest We Forget means we fear that we might forget. My thing in life at the moment is to keep this memory going."
Darcy Elbourne said remembrance is a core value of the Returned Services League.
"Once we forget what it's all about, we might as well pull all the memorials down and forget about it," Mr Elbourne said.
Mr Elbourne recalled the most unique Remembrance Day service in sub-branch history. With it came a moment that will stay with him for life.
Glyn Watkins - Port Macquarie
Glyn Watkins can tell stories of his time within the British Army with precise detail.
Mr Watkins said Remembrance Day has evolved to remember those who served in the first world war and all conflicts since.
He was just 21-years-old when he was called up to join the British Army in 1960.
Ross Ainsworth - Kempsey
When Kempsey-born engineer Ross Ainsworth boarded his ship, the Burns Philp steamer Matunga in Sydney on 27 July 1917, he did not realise he was about to embark on an epic journey of 40,000 kilometres ending in a prisoner of war camp in Germany.
