On Sunday, November 5th, St. Philip’s held our annual Remembrance Service, but this year we took a different approach. We invited our friends and families to bring along memorabilia such as photographs, cards, letters, and even more importantly, stories.
Our Remembrance Service was lead by a dear friend of the parish, Rev. Canon Fran Langlois. We began with singing the National Anthem, then the the placement of two memorial wreaths. The one on the right is in memory of all who have served, the one on the left is in memory of Cecil and Morden Walker.
We sang God Save the King, and then Canon Fran lead us in a Service of Morning Prayer.
We then moved to the Church Hall, where the memorabilia were beautifully displayed. What was truly moving about this was how spontaneously the display came together – Sally Cowan called a few people to ask that items be brought, and it was a beautiful way to honor those who served.
And then the stories began! Elizabeth Robb read excerpts from a letter her father wrote to his mother, from the ship he was taking to go to war. Murray Guy, Eleanor Johnston, Paula Walker, Shirley Guy, Arnold Robb, Bill Cowan, and Rosalind Walker all share stories and remembrances.
Bill Cowan told us that Morden Walker was a World War II hero. Morden received a citation from Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery for being 72 hours under fire while operating a bulldozer to stabilize river banks on the Leopold Canal in Belgium. And Eleanor Johnston told us of her husband’s father, Dr. Clarence Starr, who served for 6 years in the first World War, and was responsible for the establishment of the surgical department at Sick Children’s Hospital in Toronto.
