The annual Remembrance Day ceremony on Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac will be held this Sunday, 14 November, followed by Monday’s public holiday.
Residents are encouraged to honour the day by attending this Sunday’s parade and ceremony at Elmslie Memorial Church at 10:45 a.m. On Cayman Brac, the ceremony will be held at the Aston Rutty Centre at 1:45 p.m.
(Note: This is a change of venue. The Brac ceremony was originally scheduled to be held at the District Administration Building.)
This global November observance honours the memories of those lost in World War I, as well as other wars. Many countries observe a similar ceremony, with two minutes’ silence at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month – when the armistice went into effect.
Cayman Islands Veterans Association president Capt. Dale Banks encourages residents, from schoolchildren to adults, to never forget the sacrifices and destruction of war.
These effects of war have been, and are, felt around the world. For instance, about 62 million people died during World War II (which ended 65 years ago): 25 million military and 37 million civilians (many civilian deaths were by genocide).
During the 1940s, when World War II raged, Trinidad’s oil was of strategic importance to the British war effort. Converted and refined, Trinidad’s oil became the fuels and lubricants necessary for Royal Navy and Allied ships, aircraft, tanks and other war machinery.
Guarding this location in the southern Caribbean was of vital importance. Convoys of Allied ships and tankers that sailed from Trinidad were regularly stalked and destroyed by German submarines.
Thousands of men from the region, including the Cayman Islands, enlisted and served around the world, especially in the southern Caribbean. Many were killed or captured during the conflict. Cayman-built wooden minesweepers also aided the war effort.
Poppies are sold every year as an act of remembrance to fallen soldiers at war.
