I was privileged over the weekend just gone, to operate with the special callsign of VI5LWF……..LEST WE FORGET.  It is one of a number of commemorative callsigns in Australia and Europe, to commemorate the centennary of the signing of the armistice.

The armistice was signed on the 11th day of November 1918.  It ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War One.  It came into force at 11.00 a.m. Paris time….the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.  It should be remembered, that a total of 66,000 Australians lost their lives during WW1.World War One was one of the deadliest conflicts in the history of the human race, in which over 16 million people died. The total number of both civilian and military casualties is estimated at around 37 million people.

The armistice was largely written by the Allied Supreme Commander, Marshal Ferdinand Foch.  The armistice was signed on board a private train booked by Foch.  It was driven to a secret location, a railway siding in the Forest of Compiègne, about 60 km north of Paris.

Above:- Photograph taken after reaching agreement for the armistice that ended World War I. This is Ferdinand Foch’s own railway carriage and the location is the Forest of Compiègne. Foch is second from the right. Left of Foch in the photo (on Foch’s own right) is the senior British representative, Sir Rosslyn Wemyss. On the right is Admiral George Hope.

I operated both from home and from the field, using the call.  I made a total of 419 QSOs on 10, 15, 20, 40, & 80m SSB.  I worked a total of 49 different DXCC entities.  The map below shows my contacts around the world using the special call.

On both Saturday and Sunday evenings, there were some nice openings on 15m into Europe on the short path.  And on Sunday evening, I also worked into Europe on 20m on the short path.  The map below shows my QSOs into Europe.

The majority of my contacts were on the 40m band, with 139 QSOs.  Closely followed bu the 15m band, with 133 QSOs.

Should you require a QSL card, please note that QSL is only via an online option.  You can confirm your contact and receive your printable QSL card by going to www.silvertrain.com.au

Thankyou to everyone who called me, and LEST WE FORGET.

References.

Wikipedia, 2018, <>, viewed 7th November 2018