Berbicians on Sunday joined the rest of the country as Guyana and both Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth countries observed Remembrance Day.
Remembrance Day (sometimes known informally as Poppy Day), is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations’ member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.
Following a tradition inaugurated by King George V in 1919, the day is also
Region Six Chairman David Armogan lays a wreath during Sunday’s Remembrance Day ceremony in Berbice
marked by war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries.
Remembrance Day is observed on 11th November in most countries to recall the end of the hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918.
Speaking at the Remembrance Day ceremony in Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), Regional Chairman David Armogan, himself a war veteran, said it was not only those who served in the two world wars that we need to honour.
Referring to Sunday’s ceremony, he said it was to remember all those servant-men
Members of the New Amsterdam Constabulary during the march-past along Main Street in New Amsterdam on Sunday morning13
and women, who gave their lives in two world wars. “We are forever indebted to them for their supreme sacrifice in the cause of peace and freedom. We also recall with gratitude those who, through the years, have made similar personal sacrifices in the continuing struggle for human dignity, social justice, and freedom from all forms of oppression, wherever these exist. On this solemn occasion, we, the citizens of the Republic of Guyana, rededicate ourselves to the search for peace everywhere, and renew our commitment to the development and well-being of our beloved country,” Armogan said.
At the ceremony, wreaths were laid by the Chairman on behalf of the Government; Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner Linden Alves; Captain Raymond Archer, Commander of the Guyana Defence Force Berbice operations; Regional
New Amsterdam Mayor Winifred Yearwood at the Remembrance Day ceremony
Executive Officer Kim Stephens on behalf of the Regional Administration; New Amsterdam Mayor Winifred Yearwood; War Veteran 75-year-old Ivan VanWilburg Andrews George, who served in the Guyana Volunteer Corps during the Second World War and served with the Guyana Defence Force between 1965 and 2008.
The Guyana Prison Service, the Guyana Fire Service and the Ministry of Education were among some of the other agencies which laid wreaths at the Esplanade Ground Monument in Berbice.
