November 11 is a significant day at Brookside Cemetery and Transcona Cemetery, however because of the gathering size limits in the current public health orders, we are unable to host any Remembrance Day ceremonies or tours at our two Field of Honour sites this year.
“Even though we are unfortunately not currently able to gather as we normally would at these important sites, we will never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Brett Shenback, the City’s Cemeteries Administrator.
The Brookside Cemetery Field of Honour is one of the largest and oldest Military interment sites in Canada. It has more than 10,000 veterans, service men, service women, and war heroes interred alongside each other. The Field of Honour in Transcona Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 280 veterans.
It dates back to 1915, when the City received a request from the charitable organization Daughters of the Empire (now known as Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire), to set aside a section of Brookside Cemetery for the interment of Veterans returning from World War I.
In partnership with Veterans Affairs Canada, we are continuing the Military Monument Refurbishment Program at Brookside Cemetery to replace the continuous-beam foundations in the Field of Honour.
As of October this year, more than 4,000 military monuments have been refurbished and more than 25,000 feet of precast beam foundation have been repaired or replaced.
Originally posted on November 9, 2020