Scout Talk

B7

By Paul Murray

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I attended the annual Sussex Remembrance Day parade and cenotaph ceremony as part of the Scouts Canada contingent, and once again was proud to be part of such a large group of youth and adults, who year after year take part in this celebration of remembrance. This year there were 74 scouting youth and adults taking part.

This year is a special year, marking the 90th anniversary of the ending of the First World War. When Prime Minister Robert Borden confirmed Canada's intent to join Great Britain at war in 1914, Canada had only 3,100 members in their army. By the end of the war in 1918, more than 650, 000 Canadians had served in some capacity. During my school years, I learned about some of the important battles that our Canadian soldiers were involved in like Vimy Ridge, Battle of the Somme, and Passchendaele.

During the past couple of weeks, many scouting groups have found ways to remind the youth of today of the sacrifices that our soldiers made more than 90 years ago. Many groups have had veterans attend meetings and give talks about their wartime experiences. Many groups use videos and books to help remember. Our youth of today are so far removed from the events of 1918 that it is a huge task to try to present the realities of the Great War to them. The website for Veterans Affairs Canada has many great educational programs available for youth of all ages, that will help with the education of our youth about the wars. Visit www.vac-acc.gc.ca.

The Department of Veterans Affairs planned a trip to France and Belgium from Nov. 8-15 to honour the ending of the war. The entourage was headed by Minister of Veterans Affairs Greg Thompson and included several youth members from Scouts Canada. This group gathered in Ottawa on Nov. 7 for orientation and services at the Canadian War Museum, then left on Nov. 8 for France.

The New Brunswick Council is very proud to have Venturer Sam Wood, from the 1st St. Margaret's Venturer Company in Fredericton, as our representative. Sam was very excited to take part in this memorable journey and has been contributing to the trips blog on the veterans affairs website. The group's schedule included ceremonies in France and Belgium, and on Remembrance Day they took part in special ceremonies in Belgium at the City of Mons and at the Menin Gate in Ypres. It was at the Battle of Ypres that the German Army introduced chemical warfare. The Canadian contingent also took part in a special burial service for Private Ralph Ferns, a young soldier who went missing on August 14, 1944, and whose remains were discovered in 2005.

Sussex native Randy Keirstead, a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, was asked to take part in the National Remembrance Day ceremonies in Ottawa. Randy was featured in an article in the Nov. 11 edition of the Telegraph Journal and is a brother of local scouter Lloyd Keirstead.