This year there are numerous commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of the Anzacs landing on the craggy Turkish peninsula called Gallipoli in 1915.
But one Wentworth Falls man has found a way to commemorate a special group of men from the wider region, whose stories may have otherwise remained largely unknown.
Don White has written a powerful original play telling the story of the 10 Lithgow bandsmen who went to war and their families who "carried on with their lives at home as best they could".
Called 1915 the production is scheduled to be performed on April 17 and 18 in Lithgow's Union Theatre.
Mr White, 74, who took nine months to write the work, says it tells the story of "young men full of enthusiasm for the cause who enlist and serve at Gallipoli and on the Western Front ... ordinary people in extraordinary times".
A former teacher at Katoomba and Springwood High Schools, Mr White used his own historical books and some diaries and letters from the young bandsmen who were stretcher bearers during the war - "brave men who ventured out into no-man's land to retrieve the wounded and the dying" - to pen the musical play.
"I drew on my own knowledge ... I was always fascinated by the history. It indulged an interest," Mr White, who has his own family connections to World War One, said.
As president of the Lithgow City Band, he also commissioned one of Australia's most distinguished and awarded composer/musicians Ian Munro, who has produced a haunting original score for current band members to perform called The Lads from Lithgow.
About 15 actors and 20 musicians, including guests from the City of Orange Brass and Bathurst RSL Concert Bands, as well as a didgeridoo player and performers from Penrith and Katoomba will take part in the show.
The play moves between the modern day and flashes back to 100 years ago and was made possible with the help of numerous grants including an Anzac Centenary Grant from the federal government.
"We don't have large reserves in the band, it's [the grants have] paid for the production."
He hopes the production will bring new members to the band. Mr White said there is humour and music of the era to lighten the material, but at its heart it is a solemn tale. Some bandsmen did not return from war and some of the others who did never played in the band again.
Mr White is looking forward to his debut as a playwright but he won't have time on the night to listen to every word. He will be busy performing with the band "in the pit as second cornet".
Tickets: 6352 4290.