Grey skies create somber Remembrance Sunday
Members of the Cayman Islands Veterans Association stand in front of the Elmslie Cenotaph 
Contingents from the Cayman Islands Fire Service, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Band and Her Majesty’s Cayman Islands Prison Service march in procession 
Governor Martyn Roper lays a wreath at the Elmslie Cenotaph 
Premier Alden McLaughlin lays a wreath at the Elmslie Cenotaph 
Elmslie Cenotaph surrounded by poppy wreaths
(CNS Local Life): One hundred years after the end of the First World War, the Cayman Islands joined with nations around the world to mark the horrors of war and remember those who have given their lives since what was supposed to be the war to end all wars. Cayman dignitaries and surviving veterans stood under grey skies for the two-minute silence marking the moment that the guns fell silent in Europe a century ago.
Ceremonies took place simultaneously on Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, starting in front of the Cenotaph at the Elmslie Memorial Church on Grand Cayman and at the Memorial Cenotaph on the District Administration Lawn in Stake Bay on Cayman Brac.
Meanwhile, Cayman’s representative in London, André Ebanks, joined in the service in the UK capital, where the three Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories were, for the first time, given the opportunity to lay wreaths at the National Service of Remembrance.
Governor Martyn Roper said, “In January 1916 around 300 Caymanians signed up voluntarily to the British Merchant Navy. The Cayman Islands Government will now join the rest of the UK family to commemorate the sacrifices made by those Caymanian recruits as they defended our freedom, way of life and democracy. We must never take their sacrifices for granted. Being included in such an important ceremonial event is an honour.”
In Cayman Governor Roper, Premier Alden McLaughlin, Speaker McKeeva Bush, Cabinet ministers and other members of the Legislative Assembly and the clergy watched on as the ceremony began with a parade led by the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) band and officers. Also participating were members of the Veterans Association, the fire and prison Services, the Girls Brigade; Boy and Cub Scouts, the Cadet Corps and the Lions Clubs of Tropical Gardens and Grand Cayman.
The ceremony included the sounding of the Last Post and the laying of wreaths, led by the Governor followed by organisations and individuals at the Elmslie Cenotaph. In Cayman Brac, the ceremony also began with a parade led by the RCIPS, followed by members of the Cayman Islands Fire Service; the Seven Day Adventists Pathfinders, Girls Brigade, Boy and Cub Scouts and the Cadet Corps.
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Category: Local News
