Mateship is one of the key legacies of the Anzac spirit that is just as important today as it was a century ago, the Maitland Anzac Day Dawn Service has been told.
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More than 1000 people met in Maitland Park on Monday morning to commemorate the men and women who have served in conflict since World War I.
Maitland RSL Sub-branch president Eric Bell said the turn-out was the largest in several years.
In his address, Mr Bell said mateship was one of the key values of the Anzac spirit that had endured the 101 years since the infamous Gallipoli landing.
"These men, especially from this area, came from farm lands, they came from dairy sheds," he said.
"Then there were clerical people and accountants - a mixed walk of life who, in general practice, probably wouldn't interact with each other.
"They all went off to war separately, not knowing each other. But within a short space of time due to the conditions of war, very quickly they learnt comradeship.
"They were all of equal being standing in the trenches, on the decks of boats or flying planes in the air."
This year, the second in the four-year Anzac Centenary, marks the 100 year anniversary of the battles of the Western Front.
"It's very hard to change the facts. We all know the horrid statistics of how it went, how many were killed, the thousands who came home injured in body or mind," Mr Bell said.
"We all know that we don't celebrate war but we do celebrate the heroism of the men and women in uniform."
