Remembrance Day Contest: Remembering Those Who Never Returned

The WIA Remembrance Day Contest is more than one of Australia's largest amateur radio competitions. At its heart is a memorial to Australian radio amateurs who lost their lives while serving during the Second World War. The contest is held on the weekend closest to 15 August, marking the end of hostilities in the South-West Pacific in 1945, and combines remembrance with friendly on-air competition between amateurs across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

The origins of the event were documented by former WIA Federal Historian Max Hull VK3ZS in his Brief History of the Remembrance Day Contest, published in Amateur Radio magazine in August 1985. Hull recorded that at the first post-war WIA Federal Convention in Melbourne in 1946, the NSW Division proposed a contest to perpetuate the memory of amateur radio operators who had lost their lives in the service of their country. The Federal Council subsequently adopted the name Remembrance Day Contest, with a perpetual trophy awarded to the winning State. In 1957 another tradition began, with distinguished Australians delivering an opening address before the contest, followed by the reading of the Honour Roll.

That tradition continues today. Before the 2026 contest gets underway at 0300 UTC on Saturday 15 August, the RD Contest Opening Address commences at 0250 UTC, or 12:50 pm AEST. During the address, the names of the WIA amateurs who paid the supreme sacrifice are read aloud. The WIA asks all amateurs to take a few minutes to listen and remember why this contest carries a significance quite different from an ordinary weekend of competitive operating. The official 2026 opening program concludes immediately before the contest is formally declared open at 0300 UTC.

The Remembrance Day Contest Honour Roll: Royal Australian Navy: J.E. Mann VK3IE; A.H.G. Rippen VK6GR. Australian Military Forces: C.D. Roberts VK2JV; J.D. Morris VK3DQ; J. McCandlish VK3HN; S.W. Jones VK3SF; D.A. Laws VK4DR; J.G. Phillips VK5BW; K.S. Anderson VK6KS. Royal Australian Air Force: F.W.S. Easton VK2BQ; V.J.E. Jarvis VK2VJ; W. Abbott VK2YK; G.C. Curle VK2AJB; T. Stephens VK3GO; M.D. Orr VK3OR; J.F. Colthrop VK3PL; J.A. Burrage VK3UW; J.E. Snadden VK3VE; F.J. Starr VK4FS; R. Allen VK4PR; C.A. Ives VK5AF; B. James VK5BL; J.E. Goddard VK6JG; P.P. Paterson VK6PP. Merchant Marine: N.E. Gunter VK3NG; R.P. Veall VK3PV.

The rules, 2026 opening address and contest information are available from the WIA Remembrance Day Contest page:

Link

Page Last Updated: Friday, 14 Aug 2026 at 22:19 hours by Justin Giles-clark

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