Grand Cayman’s annual Remembrance Day Ceremony will be held on Sunday, 11^th November, 2012, starting at 10:45am at the Cenotaph, Elmslie Memorial Church.

On Cayman Brac, this will be held at the same time at the District Administration Building.

Religious organisations and the general public are invited to lay wreaths at the foot of the Cenotaph, in honour of our veterans.

Contact Meloney Syms at the Protocol Office at 244-3612 or email [email protected].

This global November observance honours the memories of those lost in World War I, as well as other wars. Many countries observe a similar ceremony, with two minutes’ silence at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month – when the armistice went into effect.

Cayman Islands Veterans Association encourages residents, from school children to adults, to never forget the sacrifices and destruction of war.

These effects of war have been, and are, felt around the world. For instance, about 62 million people died during World War II (which ended 65 years ago): 25 million military and 37 million civilians (many civilian deaths were by genocide).

During the 1940s, when World War II raged, Trinidad’s oil was of strategic importance to the British war effort. Converted and refined, Trinidad’s oil became the fuels and lubricants necessary for Royal Navy and Allied ships, aircraft, tanks and other war machinery.

Guarding this location in the southern Caribbean was of vital importance. Convoys of Allied ships and tankers that sailed from Trinidad were regularly stalked and destroyed by German submarines.

Thousands of men from the region, including the Cayman Islands, enlisted and served around the world, especially in the southern Caribbean. Many were killed or captured during the conflict. Cayman-built wooden minesweepers also aided the war effort.

Poppies are sold every year as an act of remembrance to fallen soldiers at war.