Special ceremony planned to honour the start of the First World War
This year’s November 11 Remembrance Day observance will include a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War. Several thousand men and women from the Beach served in the military or were part of civilian home front efforts from 1914 to the war’s end in 1918.
The ceremony will take place at the cenotaph in the northwest corner of Kew Gardens starting shortly before 11 a.m.
Members of the Baron Byng Beaches Branch 1/42 of the Royal Canadian Legion will lead the procession to the cenotaph, which will include students from Monarch Park and Malvern Collegiate who have been studying the First World War, plus a vintage fire truck and ambulances. Veterans of the Second World War and war brides will be honoured guests, and wreaths will be laid at the memorial by community representatives.
The ceremony has been organized by Community Centre 55, and Nancy Culver, the centre’s special events coordinator, says she is grateful to everyone involved for what she called incredible contributions and cooperation.
A reception will be held after the event in the Legion at 243 Coxwell Ave. A booklet on the role that Beachers played in the First World War is being compiled.
