Upcoming: War Memorial Dedication Ceremony

An official Dedication Ceremony for the new War Memorial on the grounds of the Cabinet Office will take place on Sunday December 12, 2010 at 9:30 a.m.

Governor Sir Richard Gozney, Premier Paula Cox and Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Works  Derrick  Burgess, will be among the dignitaries in attendance to honour the sacrifices made by those Bermuda residents who served in the Great Wars. Veterans’ families will be in attendance also. Members of the public are invited to attend the ceremony that will also see the participation of The Bermuda Regiment and its Band and Corps of Drums.

After World War I, the Government of the day promised that a War Memorial would be built on the Cabinet Office Grounds and a foundation stone was laid in 1920 by the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII. For various reasons, however, the Memorial was never built. After the Second World War (1939 – 1945) the BVRC, a smaller, separate unit, did have a War Memorial constructed in Victoria Park, Hamilton.

The new War Memorial, located a few yards east of the Cenotaph on Front Street, Hamilton, was constructed earlier this year by the Ministry of Public Works. An Island-wide appeal and a No Soldier Left Behind campaign has led to the names of over 2,500 Bermuda veterans who served in the First and Second World Wars being carved on the Memorial.

It is believed that more Bermuda residents per capita than any other country in the world volunteered to serve in the First World War (1914 – 1918). Bermuda residents served in all of the great battles of the First World War, including the Battle of the Somme in France that lasted for six months and claimed nearly a million lives.

Bermuda’s military units were racially segregated at the time of the World Wars, with black veterans generally receiving far less recognition than their white counterparts. Additionally, over the years, the records of veterans, particularly black veterans, were poorly maintained or non-existent and returning soldiers were not compensated with pensions and benefits. In 2007 the Government amended the Pensions and Gratuities (War Service) Act 1947, thereby enabling black veterans and their widows to receive their due benefits, including free hospital treatment, respite and palliative care, a monthly pension and a funeral grant.

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