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Remembrance Day ceremony follows traditional program

By Don Fennell

Published 3:54 PDT, Fri November 1, 2019

Last Updated: 2:13 PDT, Wed May 12, 2021

The Richmond Remembrance Day committee organizes the annual Remembrance Day ceremonies Nov. 11 at the Richmond Cenotaph, honouring and remembering Canadian service personnel who gave their lives in the service of our country.

Ever year, a parade features several hundred marchers, including veterans, Canadian Armed Forces members and rep from public safety agencies and cadet organizations. The parade begins at 10:20 a.m. followed by the official ceremony and wreath laying at the city hall cenotaph.

A reception will be held in the city hall galleria following the ceremony. As well, many interesting Remembrance Day displays put together by city archives and friends for the Richmond Archives may be viewed, while guests are treated to music by the Richmond Peace Children’s Choir. 

Also known as Armistice Day, and marking the date and time (the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month) when armies stopped fighting in the First World War in 1918, Remembrance Day is a statutory holiday in Canada to pay tribute to the fallen who gave their lives for our freedom. 

It is at precisely 11 a.m. local time that Canadians pause for two minutes of silence to remember.

Some 100,000 Canadian soldiers died in the First and Second World Wars. All government buildings fly the Canadian flag on this day as a further show of respect and support for Canadian troops.

Poppies, which are typically worn on coats, also symbolize remembrance.

The moment of remembrance begins with the bugle playing of the Last Post immediately before 11 a.m., at which time the gun salute fires and the bells of the Peace Tower toll the hour. Another gun salute signals the end of the two minutes of silence, and cues the playing of a lament, the bugling of The Rouse and the reading of the Act of Remembrance. After a choir sings In Flanders Fields, parties lay their wreaths at the base of the memorial. The playing of God Save the Queen ends the formal ceremony.

The Remembrance Day service will also be available through web streaming at richmond.ca/discover/events/RemembranceDayCeremonies

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