Remembrance Day

Victoria residents pin poppies and flowers to the fence surrounding the Victoria cenotaph on Remembrance Day 2020. (Jane Skrypnek/News Staff)

PHOTOS: Victoria residents pay their respects

Passerby pinned poppies to the fence surrounding the Victoria cenotaph on Nov. 11

 

Norm Scott salutes after laying a wreath at the Remembrance Day ceremony at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Langford. (Arnold Lim/Black Press Media)

VIDEO: Langford Remembrance Day ceremony is small and heartfelt

People were asked to stay at home and watch livestreams of the ceremonies

 

Langford resident and business owner Cynthia Cummings wrote a poem for her veteran husband called ‘A Veteran’s Wife’ in 2012. (Cynthia Cummings photo)

Langford woman writes poem for veteran husband who served over 25 years in the army

‘I am the woman who has seen into the eyes of his pain,’ says the veteran wife

 

Heather Maling and crash researcher Radovan Zivanovic searching for small pieces from the crash site where Officer Henry Carruthers, of Trail, was killed in the Second World War. Photo: Submitted

Remembering a young man from Trail who went to war and never came home

Henry Carruthers is buried in the Belgrade War Cemetery in Serbia.

Heather Maling and crash researcher Radovan Zivanovic searching for small pieces from the crash site where Officer Henry Carruthers, of Trail, was killed in the Second World War. Photo: Submitted
Saanich residents Colin and Joan Nicholson hold up a First World War trench map of Lens, France. It was used by Colin’s grandfather, George, during wartime. (Don Descoteau/News Staff)

War stories keep memory of grandfather alive for Saanich man

Career military man George Nicholson served his countries on three continents, in both world wars

Saanich residents Colin and Joan Nicholson hold up a First World War trench map of Lens, France. It was used by Colin’s grandfather, George, during wartime. (Don Descoteau/News Staff)
Sitting at the huge lazy susan table in the RCAF room, Joel Eilersten flips through a book that tells of the military history on the West Coast. (Zoe Ducklow photo)

Remembering the Forgotten War in Coal Harbour

The little hangar museum has seen it all, from submarine threats to whaling to quiet hamlet life

Sitting at the huge lazy susan table in the RCAF room, Joel Eilersten flips through a book that tells of the military history on the West Coast. (Zoe Ducklow photo)
Frank Chevrier shows a portrait taken in his 40s when he was part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. (Aaron Guillen/News Staff)

‘My jaw broke in two places:’ Veteran recalls highs and lows in west Germany during Cold War

Frank Chevrier, 84, did two tours in Germany, two in Cyprus as peacekeeper

Frank Chevrier shows a portrait taken in his 40s when he was part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. (Aaron Guillen/News Staff)
HMCS Saskatoon arrives in Esquimalt Harbor, B.C., sailing past Fisgard Lighthouse, in an undated DND handout photo. HMCS Saskatoon is one of several vessels taking part in the Remembrance Day sail past. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, DND MANDATORY CREDIT

Canadian Forces offer Greater Victoria a sail past to mark Remembrance Day

Public encouraged to watch through live stream

HMCS Saskatoon arrives in Esquimalt Harbor, B.C., sailing past Fisgard Lighthouse, in an undated DND handout photo. HMCS Saskatoon is one of several vessels taking part in the Remembrance Day sail past. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, DND MANDATORY CREDIT
Jean and Dudley Thompson met by chance on Easter Sunday 1943 outside Westminster Abbey while serving in the Second World War. (Photos courtesy Julie Forster)

Saanich couple’s wartime romance led to 69 years of love, ‘appreciation for life’

Young Canadian officers found love outside Westminster Abbey during Second World War

Jean and Dudley Thompson met by chance on Easter Sunday 1943 outside Westminster Abbey while serving in the Second World War. (Photos courtesy Julie Forster)
A group of local pilots will be taking part in a flyover to commemorate Remembrance Day. (Black Press Media File)

Look up #YYJ: Pilots take to the skies for Remembrance Day flyover

Group takes off from Victoria airport around 10:20 a.m. on Wednesday

A group of local pilots will be taking part in a flyover to commemorate Remembrance Day. (Black Press Media File)
Kenny Podmore of Royal Canadian Legion Saanich Peninsula Branch 37 holds up one of the 40-plus rocks painted with poppies left at Sidney’s cenotaph. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)

Avalanche of rocks painted with poppies in Sidney show support for veteran

More than 40 painted rocks left behind on Sidney’s cenotaph

Kenny Podmore of Royal Canadian Legion Saanich Peninsula Branch 37 holds up one of the 40-plus rocks painted with poppies left at Sidney’s cenotaph. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)
Sooke resident Colin Davenport (right) laid down a wreath for his friend Maurice Weight at the Sooke Legion, while Weight did the same in England for Remembrance Day. This has been their tradition since 2007. (Maurice Weight & Colin Davenport photo)

Why one wreath has been laid down in England for the Sooke legion for 13 years straight

Retired UK Royal Navy sailor continues tradition across the Atlantic

Sooke resident Colin Davenport (right) laid down a wreath for his friend Maurice Weight at the Sooke Legion, while Weight did the same in England for Remembrance Day. This has been their tradition since 2007. (Maurice Weight & Colin Davenport photo)
A woman lays flowers following Remembrance Day ceremonies at God’s Acre Veteran’s Cemetery in Victoria, B.C., on Sunday, November 11, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

There are plenty of ways to honour Remembrance Day without visiting cenotaphs

Many Legion branches looking to livestreaming and virtual ceremonies amid COVID-19

A woman lays flowers following Remembrance Day ceremonies at God’s Acre Veteran’s Cemetery in Victoria, B.C., on Sunday, November 11, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
BC Transit will be offering free transit services for military personnel on Remembrance Day, Nov. 11. (Don Descoteau/News Staff)

Free transit service for military personnel on Remembrance Day

Services will be free despite an enormous reduction in in-person events

BC Transit will be offering free transit services for military personnel on Remembrance Day, Nov. 11. (Don Descoteau/News Staff)
Korean War veterans Andy Barber, left, and Ron Kirk, raise the Canadian flag at the Halton Naval Veterans Association Burlington, Ont. on Friday November 6, 2020. Barber and Kirk served as in the navy as part of a peacekeeping force immediately following the armistice in July 1953. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch

70 years on, Canadian veterans keep memories of ‘forgotten’ Korean War alive

It took till May 1982 before the National War Memorial was rededicated to include the dates of the Korean War

Korean War veterans Andy Barber, left, and Ron Kirk, raise the Canadian flag at the Halton Naval Veterans Association Burlington, Ont. on Friday November 6, 2020. Barber and Kirk served as in the navy as part of a peacekeeping force immediately following the armistice in July 1953. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Blinch
Julie Mungall places her painted stones at the Brookside veterans cemetery in Winnipeg, Saturday, October 24, 2020. Mungall is commemorating Remembrance Day by painting poppies and other designs on rocks and hiding them around the city, sometimes in plain sight, for people to pick up and take home with them. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

Most British Columbians are unaware of WWII battles fought on our own shores

Remembrance Day research shows Canadians know more about European WWII battles than attacks closer to home

Julie Mungall places her painted stones at the Brookside veterans cemetery in Winnipeg, Saturday, October 24, 2020. Mungall is commemorating Remembrance Day by painting poppies and other designs on rocks and hiding them around the city, sometimes in plain sight, for people to pick up and take home with them. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
Peter Dawe salutes his son Capt. Matthew Dawe’s grave in Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020. Capt.Matthew Dawe died in Afghanistan on July 4, 2007. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg

Fewer people plan to attend virtual or in-person Remembrance Day ceremonies: poll

The poll found that roughly 71 per cent of respondents will wear a poppy

Peter Dawe salutes his son Capt. Matthew Dawe’s grave in Kingston, Ont., on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2020. Capt.Matthew Dawe died in Afghanistan on July 4, 2007. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg
Planes fly in formation above a large crowd who gathered to honour the fallen during a Remembrance Day ceremony at the War Memorial in Oak Bay, B.C., on Monday, November 11, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Honouring veterans in a pandemic: COVID-19 put Legions at risk of closure

In many ways, COVID-19 exacerbated issues man Legion branches were already facing

Planes fly in formation above a large crowd who gathered to honour the fallen during a Remembrance Day ceremony at the War Memorial in Oak Bay, B.C., on Monday, November 11, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
A small, brown diary that once belonged to Lt. Owen Talbot Aspray was donated to the Saanich Archives in 2019 and added to a growing collection of his possessions. (Photo courtesy Suzanne Hervieux)

Wartime diary of early Greater Victoria resident depicts life during First World War

Soldier’s journal ‘a fantastic addition’ to Saanich Remembers World War One project, archivist says

A small, brown diary that once belonged to Lt. Owen Talbot Aspray was donated to the Saanich Archives in 2019 and added to a growing collection of his possessions. (Photo courtesy Suzanne Hervieux)
Veteran Graeme Hafey is looking forward to welcoming veterans and patrons to the U.S Marine Corps tent he’s added outside V2V Black Hops Brewing for tasting, dining, movie nights, and other events. (Rick Stiebel/News Staff)

Remembrance Day’s significance not lost on Langford veteran

Dealing with PTSD inspires effort to help others

Veteran Graeme Hafey is looking forward to welcoming veterans and patrons to the U.S Marine Corps tent he’s added outside V2V Black Hops Brewing for tasting, dining, movie nights, and other events. (Rick Stiebel/News Staff)