Ceremony in War Memorial pays tribute to fighting and fallen veterans on Remembrance Day
“We gather here together not to celebrate war, but to celebrate the more than 180,000 men and women who, since the beginning on the First World War, have given their lives in service to human kind.”
It was with these words that President Alastair Summerlee addressed the hundreds of people who gathered in War Memorial Hall on Nov. 11 to show respect for those who have fought, and continue to fight, for global peace.
The proceedings included the singing of “O Canada,” a poetry reading, the playing of the Last Post bugle call, the ceremonial lying of the wreaths, and the Rose Bowl. The Rose Bowl, a silver bowl filled with red roses, was donated by University of Guelph graduate Kathleen Dowler Riter in honour of her friend, and OAC faculty member, RAF Captain John Playford Hales, who was killed in France in 1918. The Rose Bowl remains a prominent symbol of the university’s history.
These events culminated in the one-minute moment of silence where, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, Canadians pause in memory of those who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.
For Canada, the First World War began on Aug. 4, 1914 when Great Britain declared war on Germany. As a dominion of the British Empire, Canada automatically joined the fight. Over 400,000 Canadians saw service overseas by the wars end in 1918. Next year will mark the hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the war.
On Sept. 1, 1939, the Second World War began with the German attack on Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany and Canada soon followed suit. In total, over 100,000 Canadians lost their lives while fighting in these two war’s alone.
University of Guelph student, Mary Walton, attended the service to show appreciation for her grandfather who fought in Burma during World War II.
“Remembrance Day gives a voice to soldiers that gave the ultimate sacrifice and those who, like my grandfather, suffered from their experiences in war,” Walton said. “It is ultimately our way of thanking them.”
Remembrance Day celebrations took place coast to coast, with the most high profile being in Ottawa at the National War Memorial on Parliament Hill. The common theme among these gatherings was not just to reflect on the past, but to address the current state of world affairs and attempt to create a future of peace rather than war.
“[We] have to commit to making a difference, [we] have to do more in order to deal with those people who are suffering around the world and end conflicts between human beings,” said Summerlee in his address, adding that this would represent the truest form of remembrance.