This year Remembrance Day is on a Sunday. So often we are at work during the time when the celebrations take place – the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – but this year we should have no excuse for not getting out and joining those who have served in our armed forces as they remember their fallen comrades. We should show our support and stand beside them. Lest we forget!
Branch 1/42 Baron Byng, 243 Coxwell (416-465-0120) will lead the annual Remembrance day Parade from Corpus Christi Church, along Queen Street to the cenotaph in Kew Gardens where a ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, weather permitting. The public is invited to the branch following for a reception.
Branch 22, Woodbine Heights, 1240 Woodbine Ave. (416-425-1714), will be part of the East York Remembrance Day Parade, Nov. 11, which begins in the parking lot of East York Collegiate and marches along Coxwell to the cenotaph in front of the East York Civic Centre, 850 Coxwell Ave. There will be an 11 o’clock service, with a reception at the branch following.
Branch 11 on Dawes Road (416-699-1353) held its regular Sunday afternoon parade from Shoppers World Danforth back to the Legion branch on Nov. 4. On Nov. 11, members of the branch will join with Branch 22 to participate in the East York parade and service. The public is welcome to join them back at the branch following for a reception which will include entertainment.
Branch 13 Scarborough, 1577 Kingston Rd. (416-691-2015), will hold a Remembrance Day ceremony at the cenotaph at Kingston Road and Danforth on Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. Then the members go back to the branch where another small ceremony will take place followed by a reception. The public is always welcome.
Branch 73 Oakridge, 2 Robinson Ave. (416-691-4763), participated in the annual Scarborough Civic Centre Parade and Ceremony on Nov. 4. On November 11, the members will be at the cenotaph at Kingston Road and Danforth to celebrate with Branch 13 and other Scarborough Legions at 11 a.m. There will also be a reception following at the branch, and the public is welcome.
The Naval Club of Toronto, 1910 Gerrard St. E., just west of Woodbine (416-924-2811), will be taking part in the Remembrance Day ceremonies downtown. The members will muster at City Hall and march to the cenotaph. The TSCAA colour guard will be on hand along with the Naval Officers Association (Toronto Branch), the Royal Naval Association, the Wren Association and the Toronto Sea Cadet Alumni Association. Then they will return to the branch for a local ceremony beginning at 2:30 p.m. with music and refreshments to follow. This year music will be supplied by local entertainers Martin Gladstone and Frank Caruso, who will perform favourite songs from the 1940s to present day. Their show gets underway at 4 p.m.
Notre Dame High School, 12 Malvern Ave., (416-393-5501) is having two memorial services for their students and community members, Nov. 9, at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. The focus of the service will be on The Second World War in Asia. Dignitaries who will be on hand include Angela Gautier, Assoc. Dir. Of Ed. For the TCDSB, MP Beaches-East York Matthew Kellway, Michael Prue, MPP Beaches-East York, Dr. Joseph Wong, founder of the Toronto Association for Learning and Preserving the History of WWII in Asia (ALPHA), and George McDonnell, a Canadian veteran who served in Hong Kong.
Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute, 800 Greenwood Ave., will hold two moving assemblies on Nov. 9. The assemblies will feature a dance performance, slideshow created by students and poetry reading from Danforth Dialogues, the school’s spoken word club. During the assembly, students will also read soldiers’ letters written by former Danforth CTI students while at war. The first assembly runs from 8:50-9:50 a.m., and the second will run from 9:55-10:55 a.m.
The theme of this year’s Remembrance Day presentation at Malvern Collegiate Institute, 55 Malvern Ave., is ‘Respect for Veterans’; there will be a focus on surviving Canadian veterans, as well as local Malvern and Beach veterans. Following the presentation, there will also be an informal luncheon and a moment of silence to mark the 11th hour. The presentation gets underway at 9:30 a.m.
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