Archive For The “Remembrance Day” Category
A week or so ago, I was going through box and box of old photos in the collection of my late mother, Catherine Rowland (nee Hill). Almost all of the images are people photos, my mother, her brother, parents and friends from 1914, when she was born, until the Second World.
I was surprised to find among all those photos two small shots of the Canadian War Memorial at Vimy Ridge in France.
It commemorates the battle where the Canadian Corps assaulted German lines at Vimy Ridge during the offensive of the Battles of Arras in 1917.
The memorial was planned in the early 1920s to mark the Canadian contribution in the horrors of the First World War. It was built on a foundation 11,000 tonnes of steel reinforced concrete with 6,000 tonnes of Seget limestone brought from Crotia to create the twin pylons.
Now here is the mystery, as far as I know my mother had no known connection to Canada until our family moved to Canada in 1951. It is likely that either my mother, or her brother, John Hill, took the photos on a trip to France, perhaps soon after the memorial’s completion in late 1935 and before the official opening by King Edward VIII, French President Albert Lebrun and Prince Arthur of Connaught on July 26, 1936 (which also would have been my mother’s 22nd birthday).
The original photos were small, probably direct prints from the (lost?) original negatives, about two inches on the longest side. The original prints were enlarged, enhanced and restored in PhotoShop. Restoration copyright 2023 by Robin Rowland.
The cloudy day creates an interesting atmopshere to the shots of the twin pylons.
The twin pylons at Vimy Ridge. (Catherine or John HIll, restored by Robin Rowland)
A 1930s image of Vimy Ridge. (Catherine or John Hill, restored by Robin Rowland)
The original photo (Robin Rowland)
A near blizzard did not stop the people of Kitimat turning out for the Remembrance Day service on November 11, 2017.
Building a snowman before the Remembrance Day service (Robin Rowland)
Laura Mckenzie and Linda Lewis checking the wreaths prior to the service (Robin Rowland)
An RCMP officer leads the colour party (Robin Rowland)
The colour party (Robin Rowland)
The RCMP march to the cenotaph. (Robin Rowland)
The invocation, left to right, Dwight Magee, Royal Canadian Legion, Rev. Dr. Dona Lethbridge, Legion chaplain, Marg Bogaert, Royal Canadian Legion. (Robin Rowland)
Cubs and scouts at the Remembrance Day service (Robin Rowland)
Lucy Beatty of the Royal Canadian Legion Ladies Auxiliary lowers the flag during the two minutes of silence (Robin Rowland)
A moment of silence. (Robin Rowland)
Veteran Jason Parrill lays a wreath on behalf of Canada. (Robin Rowland)
Anne Berrisford lays a memorial wreath for Captain (Chaplain) D. Schmidt. (Robin Rowland)
A cub lays a wreath. (Robin Rowland)
Mayor Phil Germuth lays a wreath. (Robin Rowland)
The wreaths (Robin Rowland)
A Mountie salutes during the playing of O Canada. (Robin Rowland)
Kitimat Cubs during the two minutes of silence, Remembrance Day, Nov. 11. 2016. (Robin Rowland)
Jason and Serina Parrill, both veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces and who saw tours of duty in the some of the world’s hot spots at the Remembrance Day Service, Kitimat, BC, Nov. 11. 2016. They later laid wreathes on behalf of the Sovereign and Armed Forces respectively. (Robin Rowland)
Nancy Grey, president of the Royal Canadian Legion Ladies Auxiliary and its zone commander at the Remembrance Day service in Kitimat. (Robin Rowland)
Two Boy Scouts prepare to lay a wreath during the Remembrance Day service in Kitimat, Nov. 11, 2016. (Robin Rowland)
The colour party prepares to march off at the end of the Remembrance Day service in Kitimat, Nov. 11. 2016 (Robin Rowland)
I came across the cluster of maple leaves on my way home from the Remembrance Day service, Nov. 11, 2016 (Robin Rowland)
A new plaque at the Kitimat cenotaph commemorates service in Afghanistan, see on Remembrance Day, November 11, 2015. (Robin Rowland)
A member of the Royal Canadian Legion distributes poppies and programs before the Remembrance Day Service. (Robin Rowland)
Before the “Guardians of Remembrance” service, someone left three red roses on the cenotaph. (Robin Rowland)
A small boy wears an RCMP uniform at the service. (Robin Rowland)
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police lead the parade to the cenotaph. (Robin Rowland)
Army Cadets and Girl Guides were also part of the parade. (Robin Rowland)
Bugler Derrick Stoigny sounds the Last Post, as Marg Bogaert of the Legion salutes and Mayor Phil Germuth bows his head. (Robin Rowland)
Across the country on its one hundredth anniversary, John McCrae’s In Flanders Fields was recited or sung. In Kitimat it was the Sine Nomine choir. (Robin Rowland)
One of the singers from Sine Nomine. (Robin Rowland)
A former peacekeeper lays the wreath on behalf of the Canadian Forces. (Robin Rowland)
Mayor Phil Germuth prepares to lay a wreath on behalf of the District of Kitimat. (Robin Rowland)
The Winterhawks hockey team witnessed the 2015 Remembrance Day service. (Robin Rowland)
Marg Bogaert salutes during the playing of “God Save the Queen,” as the 2015 Remembrance Service comes to an end. (Robin Rowland)
A bouquet of carnations with two maple leaf flags honouring Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was left on the Kitimat Cenotaph prior to Tuesday’s Remembrance Day ceremony. (Robin Rowland)
In Kitimat, as happened across the country on November 11. 2014, there was a larger turnout than usual at the Remembrance Day service, as people reflected on the recent events, the deaths of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent, as well as the fact that Canadian Forces are in action against the Islamic State in Iraq.
A veteran waits quietly for the ceremony to begin. (Robin Rowland)
As in previous years, the fly past over the cenotaph came from the wild, migrating geese.
A cub leader and her troop were part of the parade to the cenotaph. (Robin Rowland)
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Girl Guides at the cenotaph with Canadian Rangers and Army cadets in the rear ranks. (Robin Rowland)
Generations of Girl Guides at the cenotaph in Kitimat (Robin Rowland)
The Guard of Honour–a Canadian Ranger. (Robin Rowland)
The Guard of Honour–an army cadet. (Robin Rowland)
The Guard of Honour–a Mountie (Robin Rowland)
Members of the Royal Canadian Legion lowered flags during the two minutes of silence. (Robin Rowland)
One of the veterans at the Remembrance Day ceremony (Robin Rowland)
The spectators at the Remembrance Day Ceremony. (Robin Rowland)
RCMP Corporal Chris Manseau lays a wreath as the Royal Canadian Legion’s wreath party watch. (Robin Rowland)
A new tradition…
For the past several years, there’s been a tradition that began at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa, people leave their poppies at the cenotaph. Here in Kitimat, people are now pinning their poppies to the wreathes that were laid at the cenotaph a few minutes earlier. (Robin Rowland)
The annual Remembrance Day ceremony at the Kitimat Cenotaph attracted a larger crowd in the cold this November 11, probably because there are now more people in town. Another addition were participants from Kitimat’s new army cadet corps. Above Legion Member Merle Archer salutes after reading “In Flanders Fields” during the Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Kitimat Cenotaph.
An army cadet was a member of the Guard of Honour. (Robin Rowland)
A member of the Canadian Rangers was also among the Guard of Honour. (Robin Rowland)
The Colour Party at the Cenotaph during the Kitimat Remembrance Day ceremonies. (Robin Rowland)
An eagle flies over the Kitimat Cenotaph during the two minutes of silence, a fitting substitute for the air force missing man flight. (Robin Rowland)
A few minutes later, a flock of wild geese also flew over the Remembrance Day ceremony. (Robin Rowland)
Kitimat mayor Joanne Monaghan lays a wreath during the Remembrance Day ceremony. (Robin Rowland)
Kitimat continued its tradition of having children lay wreathes on behalf of those who are unable to attend the ceremony.
A boy prepares to lay a wreath. (Robin Rowland)
Cubs lay wreathes at the Cenotaph. (Robin Rowland)
A cub lays a wreath at the Kitimat cenotaph. (Robin Rowland)
A girl lays a wreath at the Cenotaph. (Robin Rowland)
A new tradition began in Kitimat began this year, when people adopted the practice which began at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa of leaving poppies on the cenotaph.
Men leave their poppies on the Kitimat cenotaph after the Remembrance Day ceremony. (Robin Rowland)
The poppies left on the cenotaph. (Robin Rowland)
A member of the Kitimat, BC, Girl Guides prepares to lay a wreath at the Kitimat Cenotaph, during the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, BC, Nov. 11, 2012. (Robin Rowland)
There is a tradition in Kitimat, British Columbia, that children lay wreathes at the cenotaph, representing those individuals and groups that are unable to attend.
Here are some images of Remembrance Day 2012, in Kitimat.
A group of Kitimat Brownies march to the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, Nov. 11, 2012, as the guard of honour of firefighthers and a Mountie wait (Robin Rowland)
United Church Rev. Larry Scott does double duty as a piper at the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, Nov. 11, 2012. (Robin Rowland)
Doug Hughan plays the Last Post at the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, Nov. 11, 2012. (Robin Rowland)
RCMP Constable Brad Walsh, of the RCMP detachment in Kitimat, BC, salutes during the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, Nov. 11, 2012 (Robin Rowland)
Children in Kitimat wait to take part in the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, Nov. 11, 2012, as members of the Canadian Rangers stand behind them. It is a tradition in Kitimat that children carry wreathes to the cenotaph on behalf of groups or individuals unable to attend the ceremony(Robin Rowland).
Merle Archer, 82, who served as a nurse in the Royal Canadian Navy, reads “In Flander’s Fields,” at the Kitimat, BC cenotaph, during the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, BC. Nov. 11, 2012 (Robin Rowland)
Kitimat mayor Joanne Monaghan who recently fell andi injured her knee, struggles with her walker to lay a wreath at the cenotaph during the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, Nov. 11, 2012. (Robin Rowland)
Another member of the Girl Guides lays a wreath at the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, Nov. 11, 2012. (Robin Rowland)
Children line up to lay wreaths at the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, Nov. 11, 2012 (Robin Rowland)
A girl prepares to lay a wreath at the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, Nov. 11, 2012. (Robin Rowland)
A boy carries a cross and a wreath to the Kitimat, BC, cenotaph, during the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, Nov. 11, 2012. It is a tradition in Kitimat that children carry wreathes to the cenotaph on behalf of groups or individuals unable to attend the ceremony. (Robin Rowland)
An guard of honour of Kitimat firefighters at the Remembrance Day ceremony, Kitimat, Nov. 11, 2012 (Robin Rowland)