How London is honouring veterans this Remembrance Day
CBC
Remembrance Day ceremonies begin Friday in London, Ont. at the cenotaph in Victoria Park where veterans and civilians alike will lay down wreaths on behalf of a loved one.
The ceremony begins at noon ET and lasts until 6 p.m. when members of the Royal Canadian Cadets will stand for a ceremonial watch at the cenotaph until 9 p.m., followed by a candlelight vigil that starts at 7 p.m. until the cadets leave.
"We have lost 118,000 Canadians since Confederation in the line of duty in battle and as a former serviceman, that means something to me," said Randy Warden, chair of the London Remembrance Day committee and a veteran.
"I think it is our duty as veterans to make sure that not be forgotten."
Tributes for Canadian fallen soldiers have been ongoing since the poppy campaign started in late October by the Royal Canadian Legion, said Warden.
"We've had veterans out in school and with the Cub groups and scouts through the week just talking about Remembrance Day."
The city's official Remembrance Day ceremony begins at 10:15 a.m. Saturday at London Delta Armouries hotel, where veterans and service members will begin the yearly parade march.
Because of ongoing construction in the city, this year's parade route that dates back to the time when the hotel was the site of the London Armouries, will be different.
"We will form up in front of the London Delta Armories but we'll be facing north to maintain our order march, which is the opposite direction of past years," Warden said.
They will begin marching east down Dundas Street, then north on Waterloo Street, west on Dufferin Ave past London City Hall and will end in Victoria Park at the cenotaph.
City hall officials said temporary road closures will be in effect before and during the parade on Remembrance Day.
Between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Two minutes of silence will begin at 11 a.m. followed by the laying of eight wreaths, a limit that was first imposed last year to keep the ceremony shorter for older veterans.