Seventh Book of Remembrance

Putting together our holiday edition of the magazine I stumbled across the In Service of Canada, the Seventh Book of Remembrance. The book contains the names of the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice since October 1947. I wanted to include the names of the fallen in our Holiday issue, but there were too many.

There are seven Books of Remembrance in total and they are housed in the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. Each book contains the names of Canadians who died in various conflicts. The In Service of Canada, the Seventh Book of Remembrance is the most recent book.

The First World War Book of Remembrance, was the first book, which morphed from Prime Minister Robert Borden’s idea to inscribe Canada’s fallen on the walls in the Memorial Chamber in the Peace Tower.

The collection of remembrance books includes the South African War – Nile Expedition Book of Remembrance, the Newfoundland Book of Remembrance, the Second World War Book of Remembrance, the Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance and the Korean Book of Remembrance.

The First World War Book of Remembrance is the largest book containing 66,655 names. The Second World War Book of Remembrance lists the names of 44,893 who died during the Second World War. The Newfoundland Book of Remembrance lists the 2,300 Newfoundlanders who gave their lives for their country, while the Korean War Book of Remembrance contains the names of 516 who were killed in the Korean conflict.

The South African War – Nile Expedition Book of Remembrance, documents the 16 military personnel who lost their lives during the Nile Expedition and the 283 troops who were killed in the South African War. The Merchant Navy Book of Remembrance includes the names of the 2,199 merchant seamen who died in important supply missions during the First and Second World Wars

As I started clicking through the book (it is online) I was shocked to see name upon name of those who lost their lives since 1990. Some of the names were familiar; they had served with my husband and lost their lives in training accidents, Bosnia and Afghanistan.

As this Remembrance Day approaches, I will be attending our local ceremony, along with my husband and our children as we remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

In Ottawa this year’s Silver Cross Mother will be laying a wreath on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child to war. Jillian had the opportunity to interview this year’s mom as she assumes her duties for the next year.