Every Anzac day, Cromwell Returned and Services Association members arrive at the cemetery before the day's services begin, to acknowledge those who have no-one left to remember them.
Yesterday, Cromwell RSA president John Morton and about 20 others met at the cemetery at 8am to place poppies on the graves of those who served New Zealand.
In the pouring rain, the group huddled under a tree to hear a short service before moving about the cemetery, identifying RSA or military markings on headstones.
''It is an acknowledgement that those on cenotaphs are not the only ones who suffered.
''For most of us it is just an acknowledgement of the freedom we enjoy today because of their service. For those who have served, it may actually bring back more memories,'' Mr Morton said.
Some of the plots where servicemen lay were easy to find due to traditional markings; others were more difficult, being family plots, but had service numbers and regiments marked.
Poppies were placed because in some cases, the dead had no-one else to do that for them.
The group attending the service was made up of veterans, those who had gone through military training but had not been deployed, and non-veterans.
