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PHOTOS: Huge turnout for White Rock Remembrance Day services

Sombre event held at cenotaph near City Hall draws hundreds

Annual Remembrance Day ceremonies at the White Rock Cenotaph drew a massive crowd – estimated at 1,200 people – Friday morning, Nov. 11.

The ceremony, a sombre service honouring those who paid for Canadians’ freedoms with their lives during past conflicts, began with a parade along Johnston Road and Pacific Avenue to the cenotaph next to City Hall.

Leading the parade was an honour guard composed of White Rock RCMP and Fire and Rescue officers, Royal Canadian Legion members, plus a large contingent of air cadets from the 907 Black Knights Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron and the Cloverdale Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, attached to the Seaforth Highlanders Regiment.

Organized by the RCL’s White Rock Branch #8 and Crescent Beach Branch #240, and supported by the City of White Rock, the ceremony once again drew people of all ages – from children and parents, to grandparents and veterans – all of whom felt it was important to pay tribute to Canada’s war dead and offer thanks to those who’ve served in the nation’s military.

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Among those laying wreaths at the cenotaph were White Rock Mayor Megan Knight, South Surrey-White Rock MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay and Surrey-White Rock MLA Trevor Halford, along with representatives of almost every community organization.

This year marked the second in-person ceremony since the event was forced to an online tribute in 2020, due to concerns over spread of the COVID-19 virus. It also featured what was likely the first performance of God Save The King in the area since the passing of King George VI in 1952, led for the crowd by members of the White Rock Youth Ambassadors, along with two memorial flyovers including two Second World War-era aircraft, and a formation of light aircraft.

In Surrey, ceremonies were scheduled to take place in Cloverdale and Whalley as well. In Cloverdale, a pair of Second World War veterans, both 101 years old, were expected to lay wreaths in remembrance of fallen comrades.

– Alex Browne