Thunder Bay Remembers

Despite the heavy rain and winds, hundreds gathered at various locations across the city in honour of Remembrance Day.

This is a landmark year, as it is the one-hundredth anniversary of recognizing the poppy campaign in Canada.

Ceremonies were held at the Waverley Park, Mount McKay and City Hall cenotaphs. Gatherings were held in person this time around after being forced into a virtual format last year because of the pandemic.

Catherine Banning is one of the organizers of the Mount McKay event and explains the history.

“This service was started in about 1995 by my father Private Frank Banning in an effort to help him cope with his PTSD from World War 2,” explains Banning. “It’s just a wonderful service usually, but the weather’s not cooperating today,”

The event was also attended by Mayor Bill Mauro, who released this statement discussing local contributions to wars of the past.

“As we pause on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, we remember the sacrifices of everyone who bravely fought to defend our values and freedom,” said Mauro. “Thousands of men and women from Port Arthur, Fort William, Thunder Bay and the region served in the Armed Forces during World War One, World War Two, the Korean War, and the Afghanistan War, as well as serving significant roles as United Nations Peacekeepers in many countries around the world.”

The local connection to these conflicts does not end there. Canadian Car and Foundry, now Alstom, developed manufacturing facilities in Fort William during the first world war. One of the most significant contributions was constructing a dozen minesweepers for the French navy launched in 1918.

As a result of the ongoing pandemic, there was no indoor service held at Fort William Gardens this year.