Dr Brendan Nelson has announced he will be stepping down as Director of the Australian War Memorial at the end of the year.

Dr Nelson has had many notable achievements during his seven-year stint in the role.

Among them include opening an exhibition about our troops in Afghanistan, spearheading a $32 million upgrade of the WWI galleries, and beginning a nightly Last Post ceremony tradition at the memorial.

He even regularly cleans the tomb of the unknown soldier by himself, so that he can reflect on the sacrifices of our troops.

Not since Charles Bean, I suspect, have our war dead had such an assiduous keeper of the flame. Very well done indeed, Brendan Nelson, on an outstanding tenure as @AWMemorial Director.

— Tony Abbott (@HonTonyAbbott) August 15, 2019

After hearing Ben Fordham talk about his incredible achievements, Dr Nelson didn’t know what to say.

“Thanks so much for that. I’m speechless listening to that.

“It’s probably fair to say that a decade ago you wouldn’t think often about the War Memorial, but it’s front and centre these days.

“It’s an extraordinarily special place where we reveal our character, our soul as a people.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview