National remembrance Sunday will be held on November 11, hosted by the City of Joburg.
This year’s event is especially significant as it marks the centenary of the signing of an armistice 100 years ago, ending World War 1 in 1918, which was commonly known as “the War to end all Wars”.
The dream of a world without war never came true, and 21 years after the end of the World War 1, World War II broke out in 1939.
The 2018 service will also mark the centenary of the Battle of Square Hill in Palestine, where soldiers of the Cape Corps distinguished themselves against Turkish forces loyal to Germany.
The Remembrance Sunday commemoration will open with a march past the Cenotaph, with hundreds of civic marchers in the parade, along with military bands, veterans’ organisations and youth groups, and supported by the SANDF.
An interfaith religious service will be led by Reverend Trevor Slade, an inter-denominational minister from the SA Air Force Association.
There will then be a wreath-laying ceremony, with the first wreath to be laid by the mayor, followed by other civic dignitaries, senior SANDF officials, ex-service organisations, diplomatic representatives and youth groups. Members of the public will also be given the opportunity to lay flowers. The event is open to all.
The service will be held at the Cenotaph, Harrison Street, on November 11 from 2pm.
The Cenotaph has recently been cleaned and scrubbed after it was defaced with spray-painted graffiti in mid-October. The city’s directorate of arts, culture and heritage sent a specialist team to the clean the memorial.