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Remembering Our World War Veterans

Image: Dignitaries and family members lined up to pay their respects last Sunday.
Image: Dignitaries and family members lined up to pay their respects last Sunday.
Dignitaries and family members lined up to pay their respects last Sunday.

THE overcast sky seemed the perfect backdrop last Sunday morning as the main observance for this year’s Remembrance Day took place at the War Memorial in Derek Walcott Square and George V Park.

The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force Band and other uniformed groups began the proceedings with a short parade from Police Headquarters to the Square following which prayers were said.

Image: Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony greets World War II veterans at Derek Walcott Square.
Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony greets World War II veterans at Derek Walcott Square.

Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy, Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony and Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Gale Rigobert, joined members of the diplomatic corps, veterans’ relatives and other groups in paying tribute to the veterans who fought in World War II.

Image: Red wreaths laid at the base of the War Memorial in Derek Walcott Square.
Red wreaths laid at the base of the War Memorial in Derek Walcott Square.

Remembrance Day is observed annually to pay homage to the heroic efforts of those who sacrificed much in the pursuit of freedom in past wars. On November 11 at 11:00 a.m., the date and time when the hostilities stopped after more than four years of battles in World War I, people stop work and observe a moment of silence.

Image: The St. Lucia Scouts Association also joined in remembering the war veterans.
The St. Lucia Scouts Association also joined in remembering the war veterans.

World War II veteran, Reginald Cherubin, served from 1942, starting in Trinidad before being transferred to British Guiana (now Guyana). He later went to his native Grenada and was transferred to Saint Lucia where he has remained since.

Image: World War II veterans laying wreaths at the memorial in George V Park.
World War II veterans laying wreaths at the memorial in George V Park.

Cherubin’s five and a half years of service to the war effort was restricted to the Caribbean. He began serving in the Royal Artillery before moving on to the Royal Army Medical Corps. Like Haynes Cyril, who now serves as Secretary of the Ex-Service League, Cherubin is among the few surviving Saint Lucians who fought in the last great war.

Image: Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy laying a wreath in George V Park.
Governor-General Dame Pearlette Louisy laying a wreath in George V Park.

During World War II, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, many Saint Lucians joined the war effort on Britain’s behalf. Records indicate that 15 were killed in action, while 9 died in active service.

Image: Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony and dignitaries at George V Park.
Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony and dignitaries at George V Park.
Stan Bishop began his career in journalism in March 2008 writing freelance for The VOICE newspaper for six weeks before being hired as a part-time journalist there when one of the company’s journalists was overseas on assignment.

Although he was initially told that the job would last only two weeks, he was able to demonstrate such high quality work that the company offered him a permanent job before that fortnight was over. Read full bio...

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