Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor has encouraged school children to find symbols to keep alive the tradition of Remembrance Day.

In a Remembrance Day speech to school students at Thirlmere near Picton, Mr Taylor said that symbols brought meaning to wartime history for those too young to remember.

“Wearing a poppy is a way to show that we remember. During the First World War, red poppies were among the first plants to spring up in the battlefields of northern France and Belgium, dotting the landscape the same way they do in paddocks here at home in Spring.

“According to soldiers' stories, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their fallen friends soaking into the ground. Poppies have become a powerful symbol of Remembrance Day throughout the world. 

“If you have ever paid a visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra you will have noticed the multitude of poppies lining the wall of remembrance - next to the thousands of names of Australians who have fought and died in combat.

“At the end of each day, the war memorial farewells visitors with the sounding of The Last Post.

“Important symbols like poppies and The Last Post help us remember. We need more symbols like these, symbols that strike a chord with children, to keep alive the traditions of Remembrance Day and Anzac Day.”

Mr Taylor also read aloud a message from the Prime Minister Tony Abbott:

“This Remembrance Day marks 96 years since the guns fell silent at the end of the Great War.

It was the crucible in which our national identity was forged.

From a population of under five million; 417,000 enlisted, 332,000 served overseas, 152,000 were wounded and 61,000 never came home.

At this Remembrance Day event and across Australia, we will pause to remember the suffering and loss that has occurred in all wars.

For we are a country of memory, as well as memorials.

Today, we will remember the courage, achievements, pain and loss of all who served in our name.

And we draw strength from their memory. Lest we forget.”

Mr Taylor presented to Thirlmere Public School a copy of a published war time diary of former Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies. He also attended a Remembrance Day lunch at Queen Victoria Park in Picton.