In Pictures: Remembrance Day 2014

By David F. Rooney

Hundreds of people gathered at the cenotaph under a cold, clear sky to honour Canada’s war dead.

The annual Remembrance Day rituals here are always well attended with crowds of at least 400 people. This year there appeared to be even more people in attendance. An exact number was impossible to obtain but I estimate this year’s crowd at perhaps as high as 600 men, women and children.

The Remembrance Day ceremony is always a poignant one and this year’s was particularly bittersweet due to the declining population of Second World War veterans — their average age is 90 years of age — and the recent attacks in Ontario and Quebec that left Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and WO Patrice Vincent dead. Those two soldiers were the latest additions to the roll of 118,000 Canadian and Newfoundlander soldiers have died serving Canada and the United Kingdom since the start of the First World War in 1914. You can find out more  about our war dead and look up the names of specific soldiers at the Virtual War Museum.

Here is a selection of photos taken during our local Remembrance Day ceremony:

 

Led by members of the Revelstoke Highland Pipe Band, Mounties, cadets and Royal Canadian legion members march down First Street West to Tuesday's Remembrance Day ceremony. David F. Rooney photo
Led by members of the Revelstoke Highland Pipe Band, Mounties, cadets and Royal Canadian legion members march down First Street West to Tuesday’s Remembrance Day ceremony. David F. Rooney photo
The colour party forms up by the cenotaph. David F. Rooney photo
The colour party forms up by the cenotaph. David F. Rooney photo
Members of the Rocky Mountain Ranger Cadet Corps formed the honour guard at the cenotaph honouring Revelstoke's war dead. David F. Rooney photo
Members of the Rocky Mountain Ranger Cadet Corps formed the honour guard at the cenotaph honouring Revelstoke’s war dead. David F. Rooney photo
Royal Canadian legion Chaplain Rev. Ken Jones prays for the souls of the dead. David F. Rooney photo
Royal Canadian Legion Chaplain Rev. Ken Jones prays for the souls of the dead. David F. Rooney photo
Steve Earle plays the Last Post. David F. Rooney photo
Steve Earle plays the Last Post. David F. Rooney photo
Mounties and Auxiliary Constables stand at attention. David F. Rooney photo
Mounties and Auxiliary Constables stand at attention. David F. Rooney photo
Mayor David Raven addresses the crowd and asks them to remember not only the men who were killed in two World Wars, the Korean War and the Afghan War, but the Mounties who were slain in Moncton this year and two soldiers killed in the Ontario and Quebec terror attacks. David F. Rooney photo
Mayor David Raven addresses the crowd and asks them to remember not only the men who were killed in two World Wars, the Korean War and the Afghan War, but the Mounties who were slain in Moncton this year and two soldiers killed in the Ontario and Quebec terror attacks. David F. Rooney photo
Legion Branch 46 President Todd Driediger speaks to the crowd and reminds them that the performance of Canadian soldiers in the two World Wars gave our country a unique identity. David F. Rooney photo
Legion Branch 46 President Todd Driediger speaks to the crowd and reminds them that the performance of Canadian soldiers in the two World Wars gave our country a unique identity. David F. Rooney photo
Brownies and Guides watch the ceremony unfold before them. David F. Rooney photo
Brownies and Guides watch the ceremony unfold before them. David F. Rooney photo
Wreaths await their moment. David F. Rooney photo
Wreaths await their moment. David F. Rooney photo
There was a very long line of people bearing wreaths to lay at the foot of the cenotaph. David F. Rooney photo
There was a very long line of people bearing wreaths to lay at the foot of the cenotaph. David F. Rooney photo
The tribute paid by Revelstoke's citizens was touching. David F. Rooney photo
The tribute paid by Revelstoke’s citizens was touching. David F. Rooney photo
By the end of the ceremony, scores of wreath and crosses had been paid in memory of our war dead. David F. Rooney photo
By the end of the ceremony, scores of wreath and crosses had been laid in memory of our war dead. David F. Rooney photo