Despite the heavy rain, over 30 people attended Bright’s Remembrance Day service on Sunday, November 10, 2024.
The roughly 40-minute ceremony took place at the Chesterfield Cenotaph and Cemetery.
The service began with bagpiper, Mike Reid, leading the Woodstock Navy Vets Colour Party in for the Walking March, followed by Denise Tew welcoming those in attendance.
“On behalf of the Plattsville and District Heritage Society and the Chesterfield Cemetery Board, we welcome you to our annual service of Remembrance here at the Chesterfield Cenotaph,” said Tew, a team member of Plattsville’s Peace United Church. “The Chesterfield Cenotaph was erected in 1920 as a reminder of the efforts of a community and to honour the loved ones who did not return from the Great War, World War One.”
The ceremony then continued with Pastor Gavin Wark’s opening prayer and “O Canada.” The playing of “Last Post” came next, followed by two minutes of silence, the “Lament” and “Rouse.”
Before the laying of the wreaths, Doris-Anne Smith gave an emotional reading of John McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields.” Subsequently, Briar Balzar recited the Act of Remembrance; Commitment to Remember, and Meghan Bunce performed Julie Gold’s “From a Distance.”
Veterans and those who died for our freedoms were then honoured with the wreath-laying ceremony. Guests laying wreaths during the ceremony included several community members and organizations, as well as Arpan Khanna, MP for Oxford and his provincial counterpart, Ernie Hardeman, and Darryl Barnes, one of the four Blandford-Blenheim Councillors.
After the laying of the wreaths, the ceremony continued on with Bunce’s performance of John Newton’s “Amazing Grace,” followed by Rev. Jennifer Canning’s closing prayer. The service then concluded with the playing of “God Save the King” and the Colour Party’s march off.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
