Remembrance Day Ceremony

The annual November 11^th Remembrance Day Ceremony has played a major role in Canada since 1931. Every year, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, Canadians gather in Memorial Parks, churches, community halls, workplaces, schools and homes to stand in honour of all who have fallen.

In continuing with this tradition, the local organizing committee consisting of members of the Carleton Place Legion Captain A. Roy Brown Branch #192, are well into the planning stages of conducting the annual parade and Cenotaph Ceremony this year on Monday, November 11^th.

The parade will form up on Mill Street at Bridge Street beside the Town Hall at 10:15 a.m. and march off at 10:30 a.m. and will be led by Parade Commander, Peter Schaffer, Immediate Past President of the local Legion Branch. The Captain A. Roy Brown Legon Branch 192 Colour Party will be led by Sgt-At-Arms Joel Jordan and will be followed by the MacEoin-Ramsay Pipe Band.

The parade will march from Mill Street along Bridge Street to Franklin Street and onto Veterans Way in front of the Cenotaph. The Cenotaph Ceremony will begin in Veterans Memorial Park at 10:50 a.m. and will also be streamed on the Captain A. Roy Brown Branch 192 Facebook page. Veterans and other local organizations including the local Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps #211 Lanark and the Navy League Cadet Corps #181 Carlplace will also participate in the parade. A contingent from the Canadian Forces Military Base in Petawawa will also be joining the parade this year.

A great addition to the Ceremony last year was a fly past of a Chinook Helicopter. Plans have now been approved through the 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron from our Canadian Forces Military Base in Petawawa to have one or possibly two Chinook Helicopters fly over the Ceremony again this year. So this will be a most welcomed addition to our Ceremony.

The Carleton Place and District Community Band will again participate in the Ceremony with band member Mike Peckett playing Last Post and Rouse during the Ceremony. The lament will be played by the Pipe Major of the MacEoin-Ramsay Pipe Band, Kris Bawden.

The RCSCC #211 Lanark will be holding an all-night vigil at the Cenotaph beginning at 7 p.m. on November 10^th through to sunrise on November 11^th. The members of Zion Memorial United Church have given the cadets permission to utilize their facilities for the Vigil. Residents are encouraged to visit the Cenotaph during the evening and early morning hours of November 10^th and November 11^th to show their support towards these young cadets.

The cadets will also provide a sentry at the Cenotaph during the Remembrance Day Ceremony. Two cadets, one from the Navy League Cadet Corps #181 Carlplace and one from the RCSCC #211 Lanark will also lower and raise the Cenotaph flags during the Ceremony.

Road closures will take place to facilitate the parade and Ceremony on November 11^th. The Veterans Way portion of Franklin Street will be closed to traffic from 5 a.m. through to the completion of the Ceremony at approximately 12 noon. Franklin Street from Bridge Street to Beckwith Street will also be closed from 9 a.m. until following the Ceremony.

Beckwith Street from the Public Library parking lot through to Mill Street will also be closed from 9 a.m. until the completion of the Ceremony, and Mill Street from Bridge Street to Beckwith Street will be closed to traffic from 9 a.m. until following the Cenotaph Ceremony.

Residents and businesses are being asked not to have any vehicles parked in these areas during this time. No parking signs will be placed in the areas where street closures will take place and everyone’s cooperation is being requested.

The annual Poppy Campaign begins on Friday, October 25th and Poppy boxes will be placed at various merchants throughout Carleton Place. Volunteers will also be at various business establishments for people to donate towards the annual local Poppy Campaign. The Royal Canadian Legion encourages all Canadians to wear a Poppy and observe a moment of silence on November 11th, to mark the sacrifices of the many who have fallen in the service of their country, and to acknowledge the courage and dedication of those who have served and to those who continue to serve.

Poppies may be worn throughout the Remembrance period, including in the evening after Remembrance Day Ceremony. Some choose to remove their Poppy at the end of the day on November 11. Some choose to remove their Poppy at the conclusion of the Ceremony and place their Poppy on the Cenotaph or on a wreath as a sign of respect. This has become a poignant tradition each year at the National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa as thousands of Poppies are placed on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We also follow this tradition here at our Cenotaph in Carleton Place by having Poppies placed in a box located in front of the Cenotaph following the Ceremony.

We will Remember them!