Armistice Day observed with small ceremony
About 25 veterans and supporters gathered for a brief ceremony to mark Armistice Day on Nov. 11 at Government House.
Attendees included veterans from different branches of the United Kingdom, Canada and United States armed forces, according to Government Information Services.
Though limitations on social gatherings precluded the territory’s usual public Remembrance Day observance on the second Sunday of November, Governor Gus Jaspert stressed the importance of honouring veterans.
“We must never forget the horrors of military conflict,” said Mr. Jaspert, who presided over the Nov. 11 ceremony. “We owe deep gratitude to those men and women who sacrificed themselves for the freedoms that we enjoy today.”
During the ceremony, veteran Tim Dabbs read “The Act of Remembrance,” a poem that closes with a promise to honour people killed during military conflict, according to GIS.
Andre Braithwaite played the bugle calls, and the event closed with veteran Dennis McDonald reading the 1915 poem “In Flanders Field,” which inspired the use of the poppy flower as a symbol for Armistice Day observances.
The first Armistice Day, observed in 1919, was marked throughout the British Commonwealth to commemorate the armistice that ended World War I on Monday, Nov. 11, 1918, at 11 a.m.
Since then, it has become an annual tradition to observe a moment of silence on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
Though limitations on social gatherings precluded the territory’s usual public Remembrance Day observance on the second Sunday of November, Governor Gus Jaspert stressed the importance of honouring veterans.
“We must never forget the horrors of military conflict,” said Mr. Jaspert, who presided over the Nov. 11 ceremony. “We owe deep gratitude to those men and women who sacrificed themselves for the freedoms that we enjoy today.”
During the ceremony, veteran Tim Dabbs read “The Act of Remembrance,” a poem that closes with a promise to honour people killed during military conflict, according to GIS.
Andre Braithwaite played the bugle calls, and the event closed with veteran Dennis McDonald reading the 1915 poem “In Flanders Field,” which inspired the use of the poppy flower as a symbol for Armistice Day observances.
The first Armistice Day, observed in 1919, was marked throughout the British Commonwealth to commemorate the armistice that ended World War I on Monday, Nov. 11, 1918, at 11 a.m.
Since then, it has become an annual tradition to observe a moment of silence on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
