IN commemoration of the centenary observance of the end to World War I and remembering the fallen soldiers from both World Wars I and II, the annual Remembrance Parade has been set for Sunday at the Cenotaph in Georgetown.

President of the Guyana Veterans League (GVL) retired Lieutenant-Colonel George Gomes told the Guyana Chronicle, “Every year, on the second Sunday in November, a parade of Remembrance is held to remember all those who gave their lives in service to the Commonwealth during World Wars I and II.”

The Remembrance Day ceremony is held each year to pay tribute to those who gave their lives in the two World Wars (1914-1918 and 1933-1945), so that the others left behind might live in peace.

The First World War ended on November 11, 1918 at 11:00hrs following the signing of the armistice; and this is the date on which Remembrance Day is observed. This year marks the centenary observance of the end of WWI.

The parade features a variety of events and there will be the wreath-laying exercise which will be attended by leaders of government, members of the diplomatic corps and other dignitaries..

Additionally, Gomes said: “We still have a number of WWII survivors in Guyana and they will be leading the parade in their wheelchairs.”

Red poppies are worn on Remembrance Day in most countries, including Guyana. It is a symbol of sacrifice and an emblem of remembrance for the men and women who served and made the ultimate sacrifice in the different wars. The poppy is a white flower, but this symbolic red flower represents the blood that stained the flowers on the battlefield during the First World War.