Remember Them
Remembrance Day in Toronto
Whenever I undertake a project like the Frugal Film Project, 12 Months on Film, or even my personal 52-Roll projects, I usually include something related to Remembrance Day in November. Now, that doesn’t always happen, but this year I made a point to include something related to Remembrance Day. In fact, I purposely took the week of 11 November off from work so I could choose which ceremony to attend. For those who don’t know, here in Canada, Remembrance Day is the day we remember our war dead; it falls on the same day the guns fell silent in Europe, marking the end of World War I. Before 11 November, Decoration Day was celebrated in June. Decoration Day is still celebrated by certain regiments and in specific communities in Ontario’s Niagara region. I’ve attended Remembrance Day ceremonies in school, where I work and in my hometown of Milton. But I’ve never been to the one in Toronto outside Old City Hall. So that is the ceremony I chose to attend. I did drag some camera gear along, my Nikkormat FT2 with the 24mm lens, a yellow filter and a roll of Ultrafine Finesse 400. I also had my D750 with my 60mm, 105mm and 200mm options. Unlike other times where I would use my two feet to move between areas, I decided to use the TTC!
I caught a train out of Oakville early on Tuesday morning, riding it all the way to Union Station. My first goal was to head up to the University of Toronto Campus and shoot through my 12MonthsOnFilm Roll. For that, I got the subway at Union Station and took it up to Queen’s Park. There are plenty of items for remembrance throughout the campus. The most prominent is the Soldier’s Tower, which is a stunning reminder of the UofT members who served in World Wars I and II. I also made a point to capture the Lime Ridge Memorial, which is related to the company of Riflemen attached to the Queen’s Own Rifles who were a part of the combined Canadian Force that fought the Fenians at what is called the Battle of Ridgeway.
After I wrapped up around the campus, I jumped back onto the Subway at Queen’s Park Station and rode it down to Osgoode and walked the couple of blocks over to Old City Hall. I had packed along some compact options designed for event/street photography. I mostly stuck with the 200mm and 105mm.
After the ceremony wrapped up, I made tracks across Queen Street to Downtown Camera to pick up some rolls of film I’ll need for a few reviews next year. I kept the cameras away at that point because I didn’t want to dawdle capturing photos. Then jumped on the Subway at Queen Street back to Union and grabbed lunch before catching the next train back to Oakville. It was a short, targeted trip into the city, but I plan to take a more leisurely trip next month. You can check out all my photos from the day over on Flickr.
Growing up in the 70's, I was in the scouts and paraded every year for 8 years on Remembrance Sunday here in the UK. I can remember seeing old men with tears in their eyes as they thought of friends they left in Flanders Fields or the beaches of Normandy. One chap was an Arnhem veteran and he would visit our scout troop to talk to us about the importance of remembering those who went to war and never came home.
We Will Remember Them
Heroes all. My dad served in the RCAF during WWII as a radioman flying in an Avro Lancaster bomber. Truly the Greatest Generation. Thanks for sharing this, Alex. From your photos, the U of T campus looks beautiful.