ST. STEPHEN – The Royal Canadian Legion St. Croix Branch 9 held a short memorial ceremony on Monday to pay honour to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
A small number of residents came to pay their respects to the late Queen along with members of Branch 9.
Lyn Burge, originally from Australia, said it was important for her to be there because, “we identify a lot with the Queen in Australia.”
“Because she was our Queen,” was the simple explanation from Dena Woodman about why she attended the ceremony.
Donald Koehler, president of Branch 9, wasn’t disappointed with the small turnout.
“We understood that it was very short notice and that many are watching the funeral. Because of the short notice we didn’t get a lot of publicity out on it,” said Koehler, adding they did it mostly for their membership.
“The legion has always had a soft spot for the monarchy and we just carry that on,” Koehler explained about the reason the branch wanted to hold the ceremony.
The ceremony opened with the playing of O Canada, followed by the Last Post and two minutes of silence. After short remarks by Koehler, a prayer and a benediction, the ceremony concluded with the singing of God Save the King.
robertfisher@stcroixcourier.ca