Dear Valued Client:
Above the entrance to the Peace Tower in Ottawa, is a room known as the Memorial Chamber. Inside are eight illuminated manuscripts containing the name of every Canadian who has died while protecting our country. Each morning, a constable turns one page in each book, so that every name is on display at least once per year.
These are the Books of Remembrance.
Who did these names belong to? They belonged to Ernest Rochester, who fell in 1917 at a place called Passchendaele, on the same day his younger brother was getting married back home. He was so highly thought of by his superiors, that he was promoted on the field, and even nominated for a commission before he died. They belonged to Robert Clayton, who gave his life near the beaches of Normandy in 1944. One of his regiment’s musicians, he was killed while carrying a wounded comrade to safety. They belonged to John Wright, who lies buried across the world in Busan, South Korea. John died in 1951 while attempting to clear a road of mines so that his fellow soldiers could cross. And they belonged to thousands upon thousands more – some whose deeds we know, and some whose deeds we don’t.
On the 11th of November, we will pay tribute to our fallen compatriots. If you have a loved one or ancestor whose name is in one of those books, you will probably think mainly of them on Remembrance Day. But there are over 120,000 Canadians who have given their lives for our country.1 The oldest, date back to the War of 1812. Many of these soldiers may no longer have living relatives – or if they do, their families may not know who they were or what they died for.
But they are not just names in a book. They are heroes. Even if nothing is known about them save when they lived and where they died, they deserve to be remembered. Because what they stood for, what they fought for, what they died for…it all lives on after them.
Fortunately, we don’t have to physically stand in the Memorial Chamber to peruse the Books of Remembrance. Most of the pages have been digitized, so we can see the names online. (We have put a few links at the end of this letter)
This year, we invite you to find someone who shares your last name and see if you’re related in any way. Find someone who was born in your hometown or went to the same high school. Or just pick a name at random and learn about that person. Because they deserve to be remembered. Each and every one.
As Father J.P. Lardie, a military chaplain who served in World War II once put it:
“Three thousand miles across a hunted ocean they came, wearing on the shoulder of their tunics the treasured name, ‘Canada,’ telling the world their origin. Young men and women they were, some still in their teens, fashioned by their Maker to love, not to kill, but proud and earnest in their mission to stand, and if it had to be, to die, for their country and for freedom.
One day, when the history of the 20th Century is finally written, it will be recorded that when human society stood at the crossroads and civilization itself was under siege, [they] were there to fill the breach and help give humanity the victory. And all those who had a part in it will have left to posterity a legacy of honour, of courage, and of valour that time can never despoil.”2
On behalf of everyone at The Omell Financial Group, we wish you a safe and peaceful Remembrance Day.
Sincerely,
The Omell Financial Group
How to Read the Names in the Books of Remembrance:
Artistic illustrations of six of the books can be seen here: https://bit.ly/3pMRGYa
You can search for every single name in the Books of Remembrance here: https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial. Many of the pages contain images, newspaper clippings, and other information about who the hero was and how they died.
SOURCES
1 “Books of Remembrance,” Veterans Affairs Canada, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/books
2 “The Chaplain on the Motorcycle,” The Bomber Command Museum, https://www.bombercommandmuseum.ca/chronicles/father-john-philip-lardie/
Sourced from Bill Good Letters Library
CIBC Private Wealth consists of services provided by CIBC and certain of its subsidiaries, including CIBC Wood Gundy, a division of CIBC World Markets Inc. The CIBC logo and “CIBC Private Wealth” are trademarks of CIBC, used under license. “Wood Gundy” is a registered trademark of CIBC World Markets Inc.
If you are currently a CIBC Wood Gundy client, please contact your Investment Advisor.
This information, including any opinion, is based on various sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed and is subject to change. CIBC and CIBC World Markets Inc., their affiliates, directors, officers and employees may buy, sell, or hold a position in securities of a company mentioned herein, its affiliates or subsidiaries, and may also perform financial advisory services, investment banking or other services for, or have lending or other credit relationships with the same. CIBC World Markets Inc. and its representatives will receive sales commissions and/or a spread between bid and ask prices if you purchase, sell or hold the securities referred to above. © CIBC World Markets Inc. 2023.