On the eve of the 100^th anniversary of the Armistice, a Lone Pine sapling has been planted at Ikon Park, in commemoration of all Carlton footballers who fought in both World Wars and as a living memorial to those who died in them.

The Carlton Football Club, with the support of City of Melbourne Urban Sustainability, arranged for this morning’s planting of the sapling in a prominent grassed area between the main entrance to the club and Royal Parade.

Carlton Chief Executive Officer Cain Liddle was present for the planting.

Three years ago, the metre-high Lone Pine was acquired as a seedling in a forestry tube from the Australian War Memorial via Yarralumla Nursery. The seedling was subsequently presented to then-captain Marc Murphy by a member of the Australian Army on the Centenary of the 1915 Gallipoli Landing when the stone memorial to Carlton’s lost soldiers was unveiled.

As council requirements dictated that the seedling was of insufficient height and root volume to be planted at the time, the seedling remained the responsibility of the club for the next three years. This year, the Lone Pine, which can reach a height of 35 metres, met the planting requirements.

CEO Cain Liddle was on hand to plant the Lone Pine sapling. (Photo: Carlton Media)

This Sunday, November 11 marks the 100th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War.

In the four years of that war, more than 330,000 Australians served overseas, with in excess of 60,000 of them having died. The social effects of these losses cast a long shadow over the post-war decades.

At the outbreak of hostilities, the Carlton Football Club was only 50 years young. But it was not untouched. Of the 89 Carlton players or former players known to have enlisted for service, 12 did not return – and of the 137 young Carlton men who served in the Second World War, five paid the ultimate price.

The Lone Pine was a solitary tree on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, which marked the site of the Battle of Lone Pine in 1915. The tree was obliterated during the battle: however, pine cones that had remained attached to the cut branches over the trenches were retrieved by various Australian soldiers and brought home to Australia.

The resultant seedlings sent home by one soldier, were propagated from the pine cone – and the Carlton seedling now finds a home at Ikon Park.

Lest we forget.