The white and glistening snow that has freshly fallen seems to be an omen reflecting the purity of our hearts and the purpose of aims. We who have given and offered our lives for a just cause and have again and would again now, pause to pay our homage and tribute to those who have the same ideals as we have and have show that they, like us, are ready to offer their lives and youth to maintain the right of free men and man’s right to freedom.
Camp 132 War Diary, November 11, 1944, Volume 15410, RG24, LAC.
As we pause today to remember, so did the men of the Veterans Guard of Canada serving at Camp 132 at Medicine Hat in 1944. The service was – as noted in the camp newspaper – “brief, but none the less lacking in the sincerity of the homage we pay to our fallen Comrades of the last war and of this war.”
On November 11, 1944, some 600 men from three guard companies – Nos. 26, 28, and 36 – were posted to guard the German prisoners of war interned in Camp 132. For the guards manning the towers, gates, and patrols in and around the enclosure, their duties continued as normal, while the rest were prepared to attend the annual Remembrance Day service. One platoon from No. 26 Company and No. 28 Company’s Pipe Band proceeded to Medicine Hat where they participated in the Legion’s Parade through the city.
The service, conducted in the guards’ recreation hall, featured a cenotaph built and decorated by Privates Carey and Drysdale and was led by H/Capt. J. Herbison. Camp Commandant Lt.-Col. Ellwood delivered a message to the guards and camp staff while Mr. Lorne Harvard, accompanied by Miss Adele Harvard, recited the “Lord’s Prayer” and “Flanders Fields.” Private Solly concluded the service with the Last Post and Reveille.
In the evening, the men – veterans in the second war and some with children serving overseas – turned their attention to a happier scene, a sort of celebration of life, in the form of the Armistice Dance. Along with invited guests, they ended the day dancing to the music of No. 28 Company’s orchestra.
Lest we forget.
