Find your local Remembrance Day Ceremony
Royal Canadian Legion Branches host Remembrance Day ceremonies in communities across the country.
Click here to find your local Remembrance Day Ceremony.
We, as members of The Royal Canadian Legion, strive to keep the memory alive of the 117,000 Canadian men and women who paid the supreme sacrifice in the service of Canada during war and on subsequent operations since Korea.
This goal is achieved through our annual Poppy Campaign and the Remembrance Day services organized by this great organization throughout the country and by our fellow citizens who are working far from our shores.
Remembrance Day shall remain and be reverently observed
at the 11th hour,
of the 11th day,
of the 11th month
of each year
by us and our successors.
at the 11th hour,
of the 11th day,
of the 11th month
of each year
by us and our successors.
Terry Kelly - A Pittance of time.
The story behind the song.
On November 11, 1999 Terry Kelly was in a drug store in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. At 10:55 AM an announcement came over the store’s PA asking customers who would still be on the premises at 11:00 AM to give two minutes of silence in respect to the veterans who have sacrificed so much for us.
Terry was impressed with the store’s leadership role in adopting the Legion’s “two minutes of silence” initiative. He felt that the store’s contribution of educating the public to the importance of remembering was commendable.
When eleven o’clock arrived on that day, an announcement was again made asking for the “two minutes of silence” to commence. All customers, with the exception of a man who was accompanied by his young child, showed their respect.
Terry’s anger towards the father for trying to engage the store’s clerk in conversation and for setting a bad example for his child was channeled into a beautiful piece of work called, “A Pittance of Time”. Terry later recorded “A Pittance of Time” and included it on his full-length music CD, “The Power of the Dream”.
In the interest of creating a greater awareness of the sacrifices that have been made and are still being made on our behalf, “A Pittance of Time” has been adapted to the French language and titled “C’est si peu de temps”. Music videos for both audio tracks were produced in support of the campaign and a musical/theatrical concert production, “Two Minutes of Silence – A Pittance of Time”, was written for the stage.
In memory of Canada's Veterans
LE NECROLOGUE offers a section of their website for deceased Veterans.
"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them!"
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them!"
Canadians often associate The Royal Canadian Legion with Remembrance ceremonies and events.
Through these initiatives, we honour and remember Canada’s fallen Veterans and help ensure Canadians never forget.
The Legion is responsible for planning and coordinating annual Remembrance Day ceremonies in communities across the country, including the national ceremony in Ottawa.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
The Poppy Campaign
The Poppy Campaign is the foundation of our Remembrance Program.
. We provide Canadians with the opportunity to Remember by providing them with a Poppy and to participate at Remembrance Day services.
Our Remembrance activities however, go far beyond the two weeks leading up to 11 November each year.
Canadians are generous when they see our Poppy volunteers on the street and the collection trays in the stores.
As a result of this generosity, we are able to ensure that Veterans and their families are cared for and treated with the respect that they deserve.
The willingness to participate in the Poppy Campaign is one of the obligations we undertake when we become members of The Royal Canadian Legion.
All of us must strive to never forget this solemn undertaking — it is part of the debt that we owe to those who have gone before.
It is through the Poppy Campaign and the generosity of our fellow citizens that, in addition to providing assistance to Veterans and their families, we foster the Tradition of Remembrance amongst our youth, the leaders of tomorrow.
The Poppy Campaign commences on the last Friday of October and concludes on November 11.
I was prepared to serve,
I was prepared to be wounded,
I was prepared to die,
However:
When I came home,
I was not prepared
To be forgotten!
Unknown
I was prepared to be wounded,
I was prepared to die,
However:
When I came home,
I was not prepared
To be forgotten!
Unknown
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