(left-right: Valerie Wright, Carolyn Clark (in rear) Judith Richardson, Edna Marlow, Heather Walt, Captain (Ret’d) Gordon Walt. Photo: Bob Halberstadt)
A group of ‘Goulbourn’ citizens got together at the Stittsville Cenotaph to honour and remember those who participated and died in that great D-Day onslaught on the beaches of France, 6th June 1944.
(Valerie Wright thanking those who attended, with Edna Marlow and Tony Wright to the right. Photo: Bob Halbertstadt)
Flags were placed on the wall behind the Cenotaph — the Canadian Maple Leaf, the Union Jack and the Star-Spangled Banner. The Lament for Iain Ruaidh was played on a CD-player. A bouquet of flowers was laid at the foot of the Cenotaph.
One of the group spoke about our village’s Arthur McCaffrey, who died in the landing in Normandy, 6th June 1944. Arthur was born and raised in Stittsville. He was laid to rest at the Canadian War Cemetery Bény-sur-Mer, Reviens — not too far from Caen, Normandy.
There was a time of Silence, while we all thought and remembered those brave people who fought in the “beginning of the end” of World War ll.
We had a quiet chat of that time, memories of times past, and those who fought and came through those troubling years. We were pleasantly surprised that one of our group, Gordon Walt, a Veteran and Captain in the Regiment Fort Garry Horse in West Germany (1962-1965) was the very same Regiment in which Trooper Arthur McCaffrey served.
Edna Marlow read two verses from the famous poem by Laurence Binyon “For the Fallen”, verses 4 & 7. Edna and her husband Ken had visited the beach near Omaha, 4th October 1984, and were quite overwhelmed by the hundreds of graves all in a row and so beautifully kept.
The D-Day honour ended with a rousing “O’ Canada”.
(Left-right: Captain (Ret’d) Gordon Walt, Bob Halberstadt (partially hidden), Judith Richardson, Edna Marlow, Valerie Wright (rear), Heather Walt and Carolyn Clark. Photo: Tony Wright)
The group would like to express its thanks to staff at Recreation
Services for the City, and specifically to Len Watson at the Johnny Leroux Arena who offered to bring and then brought chairs for those present.