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[11]By Devin Roherty [12]
BELLEVILLE – The sound of bagpipes and a marching band announced the arrival of the parade at the Belleville Remembrance Day ceremony.
A regimental bagpiper led the group in the rain while it travelled on its path from the armouries on Bridge Street East to the cenotaph on Station Street. Veterans, cadets and local dignitaries marched behind, in ranks stretching from the memorial to Pinnacle Street, as spectators watched in silence.
The ceremony started with a cadet band playing O Canada as the flag was lowered to half staff and servicemen and women saluted. The crowd watched quietly as a bugler played The Last Post and Reveille.
Maj. Wil Brown-Ratcliffe of the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans Association [13] honoured the memory and sacrifices of all veterans when he addressed the crowd. He said that people should always remember those who placed themselves in harm’s way for Canada.
“Forgetting is our worst betrayal,” he said.
Brown-Ratcliffe went on to say it wasn’t just those who fell during both world wars who need to honoured, but the sacrifices made by every Canadian service member in all the conflicts the country has taken part it.
Canadian soldiers have traditionally been held in high regard by both friends and enemies, he said, noting that Joseph Goebbels [14], Germany’s propaganda minister under Hitler, is supposed to have said: “If the allies want to win the war, all they have to do is give the Canadians a bottle of whisky, a motorcycle, a 48-hour pass and declare Berlin off limits.”
Representatives from local organizations, businesses, banks and schools laid wreaths in front of the cenotaph honouring the fallen. Newly elected Bay of Quinte MP Neil Ellis [15] was among those who paid their respects with a wreath. After the ceremony, the majority of the wreaths were collected and stored at the Royal Canadian Legion, [16] to be placed in front of the cenotaph on a monthly rotation throughout the year.
The ceremony closed with God Save the Queen and service members saluting.
Maj. Paul Kernaghan, a 29-year veteran from Canadian Forces Base Trenton [17], said that the ceremony had the right tone. It did not glorify war in any way, he said.
“The sentiments expressed were in the spirit of the cost of what it is for peace. The message was about peace.”
He appreciated seeing a multi-generational audience at the ceremony, he said.
“It’s always good to see a diverse crowd. Not necessarily soldiers, but people from every walk of life. To me, that means a lot.”
Kernaghan also said that he enjoyed the symbolism of the parade. It signifies the marching to, and returning from, war, he noted.
As people walked away from the memorial, civilians, as well as members of the military, police and firefighters, placed their poppies on the cenotaph in respect. Dozens had collected by the time the crowd was gone.
Here’s a video report from QNet’s Mallory Day [18] on the event: