An undying flame of service and sacrifice will be carried back from the Western Front and throughout Australia to each Legacy Club next year to mark its centenary.

Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island residents with a link to the defence forces or Legacy are being asked to register now to be a torch bearer as the flame makes its way through the country.

The relay will be a six-month campaign with satellite events (relays), travelling from Pozieres France on ANZAC Day 2023, through to London, before returning home to Australia, landing in Perth, Western Australia in May 2023.

The relay will then continue its journey throughout local towns and cities across Australia, visiting all 45 Legacy Club locations, concluding in Melbourne in October 2023. The torch will travel 55,000 km, through 100 stops, carried by approximately 1,500 torch bearers along with more than 2,000 volunteers.

Legacy has its roots in a promise, from the trenches in Pozieres, on the Western Front in World War I. That was a promise from a soldier to his dying mate: “I’ll look after the missus and the kids”; one that has been revered since the first Legacy Club was established in Melbourne in 1923.

The symbol of Legacy is a torch that signifies the undying flame of service and sacrifice of those who gave their lives for their country.

To be eligible to become a Centenary Torch Bearer, applicants must have or have had a connection to Legacy or to the Defence Community.

Applications close on 3 September.