WINNIPEG, MB - Winnipeg's Brookside Cemetery is encouraging the public to visit and remember the more than 10,000 war Veterans interred in its Field of Honour during the week prior to Remembrance Day. Brookside Cemetery is home to one of Canada's largest and most significant military interment sites.
The Field of Honour is the burial place of war Veterans, Peacekeepers, Merchant Marines and Military Service Men and Women from World Wars I and II, as well as the Korean and Vietnam Wars and the Battle of Hong Kong. The Field of Honour also heralds Canada's only Commonwealth War Graves Commission "Stone of Remembrance."
Jane Saxby, Cemeteries Administrator, says few people realize such an important piece of history exists in Manitoba. "Many people don't know that such an important Canadian wartime historical site is located right here in Winnipeg" she said.
"The Brookside Cemetery Field of Honour compares to the American war memorials seen in Washington, D.C. We are offering free tours for schools and the general public during Remembrance Week, as a way to increase awareness of this historical asset and to 'Share the Story.'"
In addition to free, organized tours, Veterans from WWII, Korea and Peacekeeping Missions will be on hand to provide firsthand accounts of Canada's military history. They will also be joined by representatives from the Royal Winnipeg Rifles Museum who are providing memorabilia displays and explanations.
The Field of Honour site will also be decorated by 10,000 Canadian flags placed there by 100 youth from Scouts Canada.
"We encourage people of all ages to visit the Field of Honour this year as a way to better understand how important Remembrance Day is to all of us. It is a day to remember and reflect on the sacrifices that helped shape the Canada we enjoy today," said Saxby.
This is the sixth year Brookside Cemetery is providing tours of the military interment site. Brookside Military Field of Honour is the final resting place for two of Manitoba's most famous Veterans: Sergeant Tommy Prince, the province's most decorated Aboriginal war Veteran, and Major Harry Coleburn, the soldier who owned the bear cub who later inspired the Winnie the Pooh series of children's books.
This year all schools attending will be provided candles to use for fundraising for Veterans and school activities.
Field of Honour - General Public Tour
Date: Friday, November 9, 2012
Time: 10:30 a.m. (The tour is approximately 3.5 hours in duration and bus transportation is included within the cemetery.)
A short Service of Remembrance will be held immediately after the tour, at the Stone of Remembrance in the cemetery grounds, commencing at 1:30 p.m. All persons on the tour will be able to attend and then transported back to the pick-up point via the tour bus.
Please Note: Advance registration is required for the general public tour. Those interested in taking the tour can contact Brookside Cemetery at 204-986-4348.