Orders of Service
The Alberta capital celebrated victory in the war against Nazi Germany with a public service of thanksgiving in May 1945.
On the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, veterans in Gravenhurst, Ontario, organized a church service to mark the occasion.
Across the Allied world in May 1945, communities like Chesley, Ontario, gathered to give thanks for the defeat of Nazi Germany.
The order of service used by the Canadian Army on all occasions except regular church service.
Even before the Second World War ended, the Canadian Council of Churches had prepared an order of service that could be used to celebrate the occasion, whenever it came.
The Sunday School Fund of the Methodist Church in Canada relied on the annual Rally Day service as its only source of funds. The program for 1916 referred to the difficulty of raising money for traditional causes when there was so much pressure to donate to the war effort.
Veterans in Morden, Manitoba, organized an annual service "In Memory of Those Sons of the Empire Who Gave Their Lives for Their King and Country in Great War and Other Campaigns."
The Decoration Day service in Manitou, Manitoba, had been started by the local branch of the Great War Veterans Association, and was carried on by its successor, the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League.
This memorial service was held to honour the men of the 1st Brigade who were killed in Canada's first major battle of the Great War. In the coming years, the number of casualties would make it impossible to hold such formal services after every battle.
Even small towns felt the effects of the world wars. The Canadian Legion branch in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, held its annual memorial ceremony on 24 June 1951 to place wreaths on veterans' graves and on the Memorial Cross.
Just a few months after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles that ended the First World War, the citizens of Hamilton, Ontario, assembled to give thanks on the fifth anniversary of the beginning of the war.
The 34th Battalion had been raised in Guelph, Ontario, and in 1933 brought its wartime chaplain back to officiate at a memorial service.
Sold at $1 per hundred, this leaflet provided a standard service that could be used by any of the Protestant denominations to mark the end of the Second World War.
This Royal Canadian Navy Draft Depot in Halifax, Nova Scotia, held a church service to mark the German surrender in May 1945.
Services such as this one were intended to ensure that children understood the meaning and significance of the First World War in its religious context.
Gilbert Thomas of Lucknow, Ontario, died of disease not long after he enlisted in the 5th University Company, and his body was brought home for burial.
This order of service for use in military training camps began with the exhortation "All are requested to join heartily in the Prayers, Psalm, Creed and Hymns."
Alan Pilcher was flying with 544 Squadron RAF when he was killed in a flying accident in Britain on 2 December 1943. A memorial service was held in his hometown of Fort Steele, British Columbia.