The Longwood ANZAC Day commemorations began with a 100-strong march down Hurley Street to the Boer War memorial on Hill Street, led by 'Donkey', a local donkey now becoming a tradition in the small town. About 150 people then gathered for the morning's service, with wreaths being laid by representatives of Longwood's various community groups and primary school. Father Richard Pennington opened the memorial service with prayer, saying that the origins of ANZAC Day were what made Australia and New Zealand 'the nations they are today'. "We ask that joy and fulfilment are granted to those who are still living and to those in rest, may they be granted peace," Rev. Pennington said. Sergeant Cheryl Bower spoke at both the Longwood and Euroa services and was wearing her service medals which were primarily awarded for her deployment in the Middle East. SGT Bower is an instructor at the Army School of Transport at Puckapunyal, and an operational mover in her Army service. She was deployed to Afghanistan in 2021 for the final four months of Australia's operations in that conflict. "My job is to organise the moving of personnel and transport for operations," SGT Bower told this masthead. "I was in Afghanistan for the final four months of that war to organise getting the planes in to get everyone out. "I was one of the last Australian army personnel to leave Afghanistan." Former local Charlie Cameron, who grew up halfway between Longwood and Ruffy, was guest bugler for the ceremony.
