On November 11, 1918, representatives of France, Great Britain and Germany met in a railway carriage to sign an armistice that brought the First World War and its four years of armed conflict to an end. It paved the way for the peace negotiations that culminated in the Treaty of Versailles, a document drafted five months later.
The anniversary was observed the next year in Great Britain and the tradition quickly spread to Allied Nations. Originally known as Armistice Day, member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, including Canada, eventually adopted Remembrance Day as the name.
On this date, we commemorate citizens who fought in the First World War, World War II and every other war and peace-keeping mission since.
Although the Allies won the conflict, Armistice Day was not a day of celebration. Given the unspeakable horrors and death tolls in both world wars, November 11 became a day of solemn commemoration. The two minutes of silence observed on this date is the result, a tradition that goes back to the first Armistice Day in 1919.
After two years of COVID-19 restrictions limiting access to and around Dwight Hall and Veteran’s Memorial Park in Townsite for traditional Royal Canadian Legion Branch 164 (Powell River) Remembrance Day events, the schedule is returning to pre-pandemic normalcy for 2022.
If attending that service and ceremony is not possible, when the clock strikes 11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month, wherever you happen to be at the time, stop, pause, remember and reflect on all the people who sacrificed their lives to afford us the freedom we know today.
Lest we forget.
