Exactly 100 years after the signing of the First World War Armistice, the residents of Westlock, Clyde and Jarvie gathered together Nov. 11 to remember the fallen and to honour Canadian veterans at three local Remembrance Day ceremonies.
At 4:42 p.m., the bells of the St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church and St. Philip’s Anglican Church rang simultaneously, joining hundreds of other churches and legions across Canada chiming 100 times to mark the anniversary of the armistice.
The 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War was often remarked upon at the three Sunday-morning ceremonies.
Speaking before a sizeable crowd at the Westlock Community Hall, Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 47 president Dave Hall remarked upon the irony of the First World War being known as the war to end all wars.
“We know how that went down, don’t we?” Hall said. “Unfortunately, war will continue on until the entire population of this planet can find it in their hearts to decide to quit fighting.”
Westlock remembers
Westlock’s ceremony started a little bit late this year due to the organizers being unable to retrieve a piano for the musical prelude.
Otherwise, it proceeded mostly according to plan. The ceremony began with a pair of cadets marching to the stage to take positions by the cenotaph, followed by the march of the Colour Party.
The Last Post and two minutes of silence came at 11 a.m., followed by prayers and hymns.
Chaplain Marjorie Steele delivered a message of remembrance to the crowd. She began by referencing her own military service, as she served with the Saskatchewan Dragoons — a primary reserve of the Canadian Army — in the late 1950s.
“I am considered a veteran, even though I did not serve overseas. But I served my country at home,” she said.
Steele said she had been born in 1942 and thus had no memory of the Second World War except for what her father shared about his own service.
At events like this, she said she liked to think about the statistical information regarding those Canadians who served in past wars.
Steele noted that in the First World War, more than 619,000 Canadians enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Nearly 61,000 Canadians were killed and 172,000 were wounded.
Another 1.1 million Canadians enlisted in the Second World War and more than 42,000 Canadians died in the line of duty.
As well, more than 26,000 Canadians fought in the Korean War and there were 516 casualties.
“It’s a startling fact that during (the First and Second World War), a full 10 per cent of our population enlisted. Voluntarily, I might add,” Steele said.
However, Steele asked the crowd to remember all those Canadians who have served on peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, Herzegovina, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.
She noted later that her granddaughter’s own husband did a tour of duty in Afghanistan and came back “a broken man.” He is now doing well thanks to his wife’s help and continues to serve in the Canadian military.
“Our young military personnel are coming back from these conflicts broken … broken because of what they have seen and what they lived through,” she said.
“We must continue to support these men and women and let them know they serve a country that is forever grateful for what they do, what they have done, what they will continue to do and what they continue to live with.”
Clyde remembers
Clyde mayor Matthew White approaches the Cenotaph to lay a wreath on behalf of the Village of Clyde.
In Clyde, Isaac Brower led the ceremonies at the packed Clyde Community Hall, which included a colour guard, songs, hymns, prayers and the laying of wreaths at the cenotaph across the street.
Mayor Matthew White, himself a veteran, gave a few words on behalf of the village and pastor Chris Lantz brought a message of hope.
“This is a complex day with a lot of complex feelings,” Lantz told the assembled crowd.
Lantz spoke about the changing of Armistice Day to Remembrance Day in 1931 and pondered on several Bible stories that saw people’s names changed, from Abraham to Saul.
Lantz told the crowd that Remembrance Day should have them pause to reflect on peacekeeping over warmongering, defending the marginalized and dismantling hatred.
After singing God Save the Queen, the crowd headed outdoors for the Cenotaph presentations that saw a number of residents lay wreaths not only for their relatives, but for all troops both alive and dead.
Trumpeter Josh Brown played Taps and Reveille and two minutes of silence were observed before the wreaths were laid.
Jarvie remembers
Rev. John Tyrrell, Jim Turnbull and Frank Petryshyn salute the Cenotaph at during a ceremony in Jarvie.
It was a cold, sunny day as over 50 people gathered at the cenotaph in Jarvie at 10:45 a.m. to honour the fallen.
Jim Turnbull led the call to order and Rev. John Tyrrell led the service as 24 wreaths were laid in memory by representatives from the RCMP, Westlock County, the province of Alberta, the Jarvie Fire Department and many others.
“They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them,” said Tyrrell.
Following a recording of the Last Post, two minutes of silence and Reveille, Lesley Foster sung the hymn Abide with Me and Ross Lea recited In Flander’s Fields after a brief biography of its author, John McCrae.
The ceremony was closed by the crowd singing O Canada before heading to the Jarvie Community Centre for refreshments.
“We made the ceremony a bit smaller this year,” noted Tyrrell. “But I think it went very well.”
