On Sunday, November 11, 2012, at 11 a.m., the Bahamas will pay tribute to those men and women who gave their lives in the two World Wars during a service at Christ Church Cathedral, followed by laying of wreaths at the Cenotaph in the Garden of Remembrance.
Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes and Joan Lady Foulkes will lead the list of dignitaries at both commemorative functions.
World War I ended officially at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 and November 11th was set aside in the United Kingdom, United States and France as a day of Remembrance for those who had given their lives in the war. It was known as Armistice Day.
It was from that date – November 11, 1918 – that the Government of The Bahamas made the decision to commemorate Remembrance Day on the nearest Sunday to that date, which resulted in the selection of the second Sunday. World War II ended 1945.
During both wars, The Bahamas was under the rule of Great Britain and hence, men and women enlisted to serve in various capacities. Their names appear on a plaque at the base of the Cenotaph, the monument erected in their honour.
A number of The Bahamas war veterans are members of the Bahamian Chapter of the British Legion, formerly known as The Bahamas Ex-Servicemen Association, formed after World War II.
Some of the former chairmen of the association included the late Basil Johnson, Audley Humes, Cyril Tynes and Maceo Coakley.
The British Legion Bahamas Branch is a non-profit organisation, which was originally headquartered in London. However, in 1966, the Royal Canadian Legion accepted the responsibility to provide financial assistance to 15 Caribbean Member State Branches including The Bahamas.
Executives of the British Legion Bahamas Branch are Comrade Percy Strachan, Chairman and Treasurer; Comrade Ormand Poitier, Vice Chairman; Comrade Rev. Matthias Munroe, Chaplain and Executive Secretary; and Comrade Charles Fisher, First Vice Chairman and First Assistant Treasurer.
Other ways veterans are honoured is by the wearing of the symbolic poppy flower – a red flower that survived in the battlefields of Northern France during World War I. The flower also represents the “blood shed” of those who died during this war. The poppy is further associated with a poem known as “Flanders Fields” describing some of its worst battlefields in France. Paper poppies are sold and the funds donated to care for veterans worldwide.
There is also an act of a two-minute silence at Remembrance Day services worldwide, which began on the anniversary of Armistice in 1919.
By the time World War II began in September 1939, Great Britain inducted a call to all men between the ages 20-40 to enlist in the military services, which included some three million volunteers from its Empire and Commonwealth countries.
The Bahamas was affected as its men and women answered the call to fight for the Crown.
By Lindsay Thompson
Bahamas Information Services
