ESTEVAN - Hundreds of people came together at the Estevan Comprehensive School's gymnasium on Nov. 11 for Estevan's annual Remembrance Day service.
The Estevan branch of the Royal Canadian Legion once again organized the ceremony, giving people the chance to honour Canada's veterans. The event featured various songs, prayers and tributes, including the playing of the Last Post, followed by two minutes of silence and then Rouse.
Estevan legion president Jim (Frosty) Forrest read the roll of honour – the list of people from the Estevan area who died while serving their country during the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War and the Afghanistan War. Forrest and his son Willie then placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The poem In Flanders Field was read.
Capt. Craig Bird, a local military historian, gave a video presentation on a trip that he and his wife Tina took to France in June for ceremonies that marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in France.
The Birds arrived in Paris on June 4 and then boarded a train to go to the Normandy coast.
"Some of the views from the windows of the train were spectacular, seeing poppies growing along the train tracks, looking out into the countryside and seeing the fields of crops, just like you see here," said Bird in his presentation.
While in Caen, they looked around and saw some of the old architecture and cathedrals in the city, as well as monuments that paid tribute to Canadians for the liberation of the city.
Then they ventured to Bretteville, where a ceremony took place to commemorate the liberation of the town. Bird noted the town centre has a central area called the Place du Canadiens, where the town's cenotaph is located. Plaques commemorate the war dead and a statue is dedicated to the Regina Rifles Regiment.
"Walking around the town prior to the ceremony, you could see the welcoming attitude of the people visiting and the Canadian flags all over," said Bird.
A Canadian flag flies proudly at the monument, Bird said.
"The plaque on the left reads 'Free men from all nations remember that in June 1944, brave soldiers from the Regina Rifles Canadian regiment died for your freedom in this village.' The other side is the same, but in French."
People from around the world attended, including Second World War veterans. Among them was Estevan's Jim Spenst, who is one of Estevan's last surviving veterans from the war. Spenst's son Daryl, a former Estevan resident who served in the Canadian Armed Forces, also attended the ceremony.
Bird noted he snapped photos of Spenst with the Regina Rifles camp flag and the City of Estevan flag.
At the end of the day, they took a train to Trouville, which was their base of operations for the next few days. On June 6, at Courseulles-sur-Mer, home of the Normandy landing beaches and the Juno Beach Centre that pays tribute to Canadian forces, there was another ceremony.
"French citizens love that there were Canadians there and wanted pictures with us," said Bird.
Canada House at Bernay-sur-Mer became part of Canadian military history on June 6, 1944, Bird said, as on that day, it became the first house to be liberated during Operation Overlord, which was the Allied military operation to liberate France. On June 6, 1977, members of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regiment and their relatives placed a bronze plaque in front of the house.
"The plaque reads 'This house was liberated at first light on D-Day, June 6, 1944, by the men of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, who were the first Canadians to land on this beach.' It may have very well been the first house on French soil liberated by seaborn Allied Forces."
Within sight of the house, over 100 men of the Queen's Own Rifles were killed or wounded in the first few minutes of the landing.
The Birds performed a small ceremony at the beach in front of the Juno Beach Centre, placing photos and Canadian flags, and having the Estevan flag above the photos, which were of Jim Forrest's father Gerard Forrest, Spenst's brother Arnold and Anthony Blondeau. All three participated in the D-Day invasion. Blondeau died in the liberation of Caen.
They also placed Gerard Forrest's issue cap badge in the sand.
Bird noted a plaque beside the Juno Centre reads "From these Normandy beaches, traced by our Canadian liberators, begins Remembrance Way."
The Birds also travelled to the Canadian war cemetery at Beny-sur-Mer. Men who died during battles on the beaches and in the bitter bridge battles are buried there. The cemetery contains 2,049 headstones, including Blondeau's. The Birds planted flags and left his picture.
Bird also showed footage and photos of the beach where troops landed on the D-Day invasion.
The Estevan ceremony concluded with a wreath-laying ceremony in the gymnasium. Dignitaries, as well as representatives of the legion, protective services agencies, service groups, non-profit organizations, schools and businesses, placed wreaths. Members of the No. 30 Wylie-Mitchell Air Cadets Squadron and the No. 2901 Estevan Army Cadets Corps served as sentries, guarding the cenotaph.
People were invited to place poppies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to wrap up the event.
Lunch was served at the legion following the service, and then additional wreaths were placed at the outdoor cenotaph in Estevan.
Video sourced from the South East Military Museum's Facebook page.
