Returned servicemen lined up in preparation for the service to begin.

While the conflicts of the past continue to fade into history, Invercargill kept alive the memory of those who served on Anzac Day.

Several thousand people gathered around the Invercargill cenotaph on Wednesday morning, remembering fallen comrades and long-lost friends and family.

In his prayer of commemoration, Father Pat McGettigan prayed their sacrifices would not be in vain, "that peace may prevail in places of war and violence today".

Robyn Edie/Stuff Dignitaries lined up during the Anzac service.

"We think of the comrades who went out to do battle but did not return, and we believe they are still with us in spirit."

At the service, Cody Natta wore the replica medals of his grandfather Arthur Douglas for the first time.

Douglas served in the Pacific Theatre in World War II and also in Korea.

Robyn Edie/Stuff Aaron Herman of the Ascot Park Hotel Brass Band of Invercargill playing his B Flat Bass during the Anzac Day service.

"It makes it seem more real," Natta said.

"He died before I was born, so it's a way of having him here with me."

At the 2nd NZEF service at the Awarua RSA, 94-year-old World War II veteran Max Skerrett and wife Daisy attended their first ever Anzac service.

Robyn Edie/Stuff Snuggled up warm with her teddy during the Anzac service is Catalina Morris, 7, of Invercargill.

Skerrett, who was the guest of honour, served in the Solomon Islands as a radar mechanic for the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

"I'm really pleased to see such a large crowd here today, I can't believe there's so many people."

For Invercargill veteran Kevin Hibbs, who was attending his 45th consecutive Anzac service, the day brought back memories of his own time in uniform.

Robyn Edie Watching as the service gets ready to start are Jayda Leishman, 9, left, and Manaiya Leishman, 8, both of Invercargill.

Hibbs was stationed in Antarctica working as an aircraft loader, when the Erebus air disaster took place on November 28, 1979.

Following the crash, which killed 257 passengers and crew on board, Hibbs was tasked with loading up the bodies to be sent back to New Zealand for burial.

"Ever since then [Anzac Day] means so much more to me ... even now I wake up dreaming about picking up body parts."

Robyn Edie/Stuff Returned Servicemen and dignitaries lined up to lay their poppies during the service.

Hibbs said for soldiers who had experienced the horrors of war, it was important to share those experiences for the benefit of future generations.

"If those memories were passed on, it probably make war a lot less likely in the future, knowing what it was actually like.

"My father-in-law was a prisoner of war during World War II.

Robyn Edie Returned Servicemen and dignitaries lined up during the service.

"He'd talk to me about his experiences, because I'd been in the army, but wouldn't even talk about it to his own children."

Robyn Edie/Stuff Returned Servicemen laying their poppy's at the Invercargill cenotaph.

Robyn Edie/Stuff Ana Packham, 7, Max Packham, 5, both of Invercargill, with family friend Jed Brodie, 8, of Nelson. The children are laying their poppies on the name CF Thomas, the Packham's mum's great uncle.