Several hundred people gathered at God’s Acre Veterans Cemetery in Esquimalt on Thursday night for a candlelight ceremony to commemorate its 150th anniversary.
Veterans, military personnel from Maritime Forces Pacific, government representatives, and members of the public were joined new Lieutenant-governor Janet Austin for the ceremony.
They stood as the Canadian Scottish Regimental Association pipe band led the marching contingent and the colour party.
In the crowd, a group of veterans from the Pararescue community who were there to honour a fallen comrade who is buried at the cemetery.
Al Banky died at the age of 39.
“It give the opportunity to go out and pay our respects and remember some of the days that we spent together,” said Chief Warrant Officer (ret?d) Guy Parent.
“These remembrance events are very moving they’re a chance to kind of bring to light the connections we have in the past, and recognize the service of our comrades.”
Candles were placed at each of the 3000 grave sites in the cemetery consecrated in 1868.
The candlelight tribute was started in the Netherlands in 1995 on the 50th anniversary of that country’s liberation.
Ben O'Hara
