There were members from all the Rotary Clubs of Calgary at the Carriage House Inn on November 11th to commemorate Remembrance Day. It was a wonderful service which incorporated the traditional Last Post and Reveille on the bugle, two minutes of silence and the reciting of “In Flanders Fields” and “They Shall Not Grow Old”. Each Club President presented a personal story of Remembrance and read the Honour Roll of those from their Club, both deceased and still living, who had served in our Military. The guest speaker, Tom Leppard, gave an outstanding presentation which brought the reality of the various wars to our community, in the form of the stories of young Calgarians who had lost their lives in the conflicts. He painted a picture, with words and photos, of young men and their families in Calgary during the time of each of the past conflicts. We heard about Thomas Riley, who grew up in the Hillhurst community (part of his family’s farm is now Riley Park). He lost his life during World War I at the Battle of Passchendaele and his body was never identified. His name is one of over 50,000 engraved on the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, of Commonwealth soldiers who are in unmarked graves in Europe. We heard, too, of Willie McKnight (you know McKnight Blvd.), a Calgarian in World War II who was an ace pilot with the RAF’s all-Canadian squadron. He was killed in action over the English Channel. There were others from the Korean War and Peacekeeping missions, but Mr. Leppard’s address ended with the story of Nicola Goddard, with whom we’re all familiar. We heard from her parents, via video, and there wasn’t a dry eye at the end. It was a fitting tribute to all those who served, made very personal to all of us in Calgary, where these young people had their roots. To read President Manon’s Remembrance story and the list of veterans from our club, click the Read More … link. |
the candles began to glow, bringing to life each one of the souls represented by the crosses. It was as if they came back for a visit to acknowledge they were here, with us, remembering.
