Ceremony marks sacrifices old and new - Sky News Australia

Remembrance Day ceremonies around the country have honoured the sacrifice of Australians fighting in Afghanistan as well as throughout history.

In Canberra, the names of nine soldiers killed in Afghanistan have been added to the roll of honour at the Australian War Memorial: Captain Bryce Duffy, Corporal Ashley Birt, Lance Corporal Luke Gavin, Sergeant Blaine Diddams, Lance Corporal Stjepan Milosevic, Private Robert Poate, Sapper James Martin, Private Nathyanael Galagher, and Lance Corporal Marvyn McDonald.

'These men conducted themselves professionally, performed demanding and testing jobs well and represented Australia with pride,' Australian Defence Force (ADF) chief David Hurley said.

'They have earned their place among their forebears in the roll of honour.'

The men's families were at the ceremony and were among the first to see the new plaque on the roll of honour.

Delivering the commemorative address at the national memorial ceremony in Canberra, General Hurley said current defence personnel understood the sacrifice of those who went before them.

He said the nine soldiers had represented their country with pride and earned their place on the roll of honour.

Remembrance Day gave the nation an opportunity to reflect on the cause and consequences of war, he said.

At a community level it was chance to strengthen the bonds of mateship and support those left behind, while personally it was time to reflect on the 'rawness of loss', General Hurley said.

'War is characterised as confronting, unpredictable and unforgiving,' he told the crowd of almost 4000 at the Australian War Memorial.

'Today we share with a number of Australian families the reality of those characteristics.

'You remind us that today's ceremony is not only about generations past but about our generation, our times and our today.'

Governor-General Quentin Bryce and Prime Minister Julia Gillard laid wreaths on the Stone of Remembrance and in the Hall of Memory in Canberra.

Many Australians marked a minute's silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, marking the moment the guns fell silent at the end of World War I.

In Sydney, former ADF chief Peter Cosgrove said Remembrance Day was not about glorifying or eulogising war but of honouring the sacrifices of those who have served the nation in wartime.

'We utter that perpetual phrase, Lest We Forget, for so many reasons,' General Cosgrove said.

'We wish not to forget the price of war.'

Corporal Daniel Keighran, who this month was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery during a firefight in Afghanistan in 2010, also attended the ceremony at the Cenotaph in Sydney's Martin Place.

Kokoda veteran Bob Iskov read the Ode of Remembrance as part of the official proceedings in Melbourne.

The 92-year-old World War II veteran said it was good to see the traditions 'still being kept up'.

RSL Queensland chairman Terry Meehan told those attending a ceremony in Brisbane's CBD that Remembrance Day signified more than the end of the Great War.

'I believe that Remembrance Day in the 21st century is just as significant, if not more so, than it was in the past,' he said.

In Perth veterans were heartened to see the number of young people attending.

'It's important for the younger generation to be exposed to this type of commemorative service,' the RSL's WA branch president William Gaynor said.

'It can't be left to pass through the sands of time,' he said.