‘Never forget’: Gananoque comes together to remember and honour those who served
Locals packed the grounds of Gananoque’s Town Hall and war memorial during a rainy and chilly Remembrance Day ceremony on Monday.
“Let us remember and never forget,” said Mayor John Beddows, a 30-year military veteran, who helped lead Monday’s ceremony.
O Canada was sung by the Gananoque Choir, the Last Post was played by the Queen’s University Band, who also performed a Rouse. Anne Parker delivered an Act of Remembrance, and Archdeacon Wayne Varley took the ceremony into prayer.
Laying of wreaths was completed by members representing Bereaved Mothers of Canada, the Government of Canada, Province of Ontario, Town of Gananoque, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 14th Field Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery, Royal Canadian Legion Gananoque and Ladies Auxiliary, Women of Canada, and War Amputees of Canada.
The Gananoque Protective Services were represented by the Gananoque Fire Department, Gananoque Police Services, Leeds and Grenville Paramedic Services, and Loyalist’s St. John Ambulance.
The names of 31 solders from the area who died while serving the country during the First World War, were spoken. Also named were the 25 who died while serving during the Second World War, and the latest name, that of Cpl. Randy Payne, who died while serving in Afghanistan.
During Monday’s ceremony, it was said that dying for freedom is not the worst thing that can happen: being forgotten is.
An inscription with those words were on a banner which greeted Canadian veterans who had returned to the Netherlands in 2005 to mark their role in the liberation of the country.
The Netherlands contains the graves of over 7,600 Canadians killed in the eight months of fighting there.
This year marked the 79th anniversary of the allied victories over Germany and Japan which ended the Second World War. The fighting claimed the lives of more than 44,000 Canadian sailors, soldiers, and airmen, including 25 men from the Gananoque area.
Beddows said that while it’s important to remember the names of those who have served the country, it’s also important to remember the names of those who continue to do so.
The youth of Gananoque was represented by Gananoque Secondary School, while local churches represented were Christ Church, St. John’s Church, St. Andrew’s Church, the Salvation Army, and Grace United Church.
Service club representatives of Gananoque, like the Lions Club, Rotary Club, Knights of Columbus, Shriners and Probus, were present as well.
Poet Laureate Gretchen Huntley performed a commemorative poem, while the Cenotaph Guard of Honour was done by the 21 Electronic Warfare Regiment.
After the conclusion of the ceremony, members of the community were invited to the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 92 for food and beverages.
TLTI Remembrance Day
The Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands observed Remembrance Day with ceremonies at several locations across the municipality.
A ceremony was held in Lansdowne at the Veterans Memorial (TIES School); at Lyndhurst Legion Cenotaph; at Seeley’s Bay Legion Cenotaph; and at Rockport War Memorial.