All ages attend Remembrance Day ceremony in New Westminster, BC Special

I went to the Remembrance Day service in front of City Hall in New Westminster, British Columbia on Nov. 11, 2009. There seemed to be about 1,000 people in attendance with all age groups well represented.

Royal Avenue in New Westminster had been closed in a westerly direction in front of City Hall. Both directions of traffic were using the normal eastbound lane. Some vociferous people were telling the police in no uncertain terms that both lanes should have been closed in view of the circumstances. As the ceremony began, the Canadian flag and a British Union Jack flew at half-mast over City Hall. At the eastern end of the City Hall grounds a howitzer, facing away from the traffic to make sure no smoke drifted across the road, was firing a salute to the fallen. The Gunners were dressed in bright red uniforms from WWI and the deafening noise from that single gun made you realize what a barrage of those guns must have sounded like in the trenches. The Gunners hearing would not have recovered from such a sound. Various wreathes were laid on behalf of church groups, businesses, and private individuals. Once the wreaths had been laid there was a parade down Royal Avenue. Pride of place was taken by Canadian veterans, who were followed by pipe bands, cadet troupes, and the Boy Scouts waving the flags of Canada’s provinces and territories. As the crowd followed the bands up 6th Avenue, it was good to see some parents actively encouraging their children to pin their poppy to the cross of poppies that had been created by the wreaths.