Nov 11th
Remembrance Day
Since the Barrie Legion Branch 147 received our Charter in 1929, we have been responsible for the City of Barrie’s Remembrance Day Ceremony held on November 11. With tremendous cooperation and full support from the City and the participation of other veteran organizations, the Cdn. Forces Base Borden and the Grey and Simcoe Foresters Regiment we have insured that this day marks the major day that our nation has set aside for Remembrance
The November 11 Ceremony is a public event where the downtown parade route is blocked from traffic and the citizens of Barrie and surrounding community come to pay their respects to those who served their country in time of war and to those who paid the supreme sacrifice.
The original Cenotaph was built to honour the War Dead of the Great War – the War to end all Wars as it was hoped when hostilities ended on November 11, 1918 at the 11th hour. With the 2nd World War (1939 – 1945) the names inscribed on the memorial became known as the War Dead of Barrie, Innisfil and Springwater.
Here we see the photo of the parents of Cpl. William Nelson Paddison of Victoria Street, Barrie placing a wreath at the Cenotaph on Nov. 11, 1957 to honour their son who was killed 40 years ago on Oct. 31, 1917 in the fighting at Paschendaele in Belgium.
Additions were added to the Cenotaph Memorial with the names of WW2, the Korean War and Afghanistan soldiers who paid the supreme sacrifice added to the Memorial.
April 9, 1917 Vimy & Remembrance of World War 1
In World War over 600,000 Canadian men and women enlisted to serve Canada. Of the 345,000 men and women who went to the Western Front, 6.5 out of every 10 were either killed in action or was wounded. Each year the Barrie Legion endeavours to remember the men and women and the people of Canada who endured so much over the 4 ½ years that this war lasted.
Our Legion and all the Canadian Legions were founded by the men who served in this conflict. They understood the need for an organization that would look after the needs of the veterans. And when WW2 began just 20 years after the end of the “War to End All Wars”, these same men and women were there to support our nation and the new Canadian veterans.
Every year in early April, the Barrie Legion remembers World War 1 on the anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
June 6, 1944 D-Day & Remembrance of World War 2
As the anniversary date of the April 9th Battle of Vimy Ridge has become our date to commemorate World War 1, so too has the date June 6, 1944 known as D-Day become the date the Barrie Legion remembers and commemorates World War 2. Over 1.1 million Canadians were in uniform from 1939 til 1945. And all our nation’s efforts were working to defeat the tyranny of fascism.
The Barrie Legion has a longstanding tradition of holding a special parade ceremony held on the first Sunday closest to the June 6th date. Local military and veterans as well as Cadet Corps participate in this ceremony that is held outdoors at our own Cenotaph