With COVID-19 restrictions limiting the annual Remembrance Day ceremonies around the country, the Canadian War Museum is offering a unique online experience.
On November 11 at 10:45 a.m. EST (7:45 a.m. in B.C.) the museum will be livestreaming the illumination of the tombstone of Canada’s “Unknown Soldier” in the museum’s Memorial Hall.
The illumination of the tombstone of the Unknown Soldier in the Canadian War Museum’s Memorial Hall. Steven Darby photos.
The hall was constructed so that at precisely 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month the sun’s rays illuminate the tombstone in the Memorial Hall.
This time and date marks the signing of an armistice between the Allies of the First World War and Germany at Compiègne, France for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front. This led to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919, officially ending the war.
This particular tombstone marked the grave of one of the 6,846 Canadians buried during the First World War as ‘unknown soldiers,’ meaning their bodies were recovered but their identities could not be confirmed.
The soldier whose grave was marked with this tombstone was removed from his resting place in Cabaret Rouge Cemetery, near Vimy Ridge, France and re-interred at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Canada’s National War Memorial on May 28, 2000. The tombstone was donated to the Canadian War Museum, where it is displayed prominently in the Memorial Hall.
The museum has added powerful new videos, more evocative artifacts, and detailed historical overviews to its online Remembrance Day program it started in 2020.
This year’s additions include eight videos featuring intriguing stories of service and sacrifice linked to objects in the National Collection.
Also included are three videos exploring how the message of remembrance is intertwined with the Museum’s architecture, 30 new collection spotlights, and five new historical overviews highlighting the specific contributions of Asian Canadians, black Canadians, Indigenous Canadians, veterans and women.
