Memorial University will remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice so “that in freedom of learning their cause and sacrifice might not be forgotten.”

A Ceremony of Remembrance will take place on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 11 a.m. in the D.F. Cook Recital Hall, School of Music, on the St. John’s campus. The ceremony will be webcast live on Memorial’s main page, mun.ca, during the ceremony.

At Grenfell Campus, a Ceremony of Remembrance will take place at the Arts and Science Extension Atrium at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 10; at the Marine Institute, a Ceremony of Remembrance will take place at the Merchant Marine Memorial at 11 a.m. on Nov. 10.

A living memorial

The university was founded in 1925 as a living memorial to those who fought in the First World War and, later, the Second World War. Each year, a Ceremony of Remembrance is held in association with Remembrance Day.

Members of the public, students, faculty, staff, retirees and alumni are invited to attend the ceremony, which pays special tribute to the 30 former Memorial students who fought and died in the First World War and the Second World War.

Each year the ceremony focuses on a different aspect of the war. This year the focus will be Newfoundland women in the First World War.

The ceremony will provide an opportunity to look at the war from the perspective of four Newfoundland women through their letters, each written in a different year of the war from 1914-1917. The stories of the mother, the sweetheart and the nurses who served are very different, but the letters show that their concern for the soldiers and the well-being of others weighed heavily on all of them.

The letters will be read by four women from the Memorial University community: Shelley Neville, Jennifer Mallard, Stephanie Curran and Alyssa O’Keefe.

Closed Monday, Nov. 13

Chancellor Susan Dyer Knight will bring remarks on behalf of President Gary Kachanoski. Dr. Dale Foster, associate professor, Faculty of Business Administration, will be master of ceremonies.

Memorial University will be closed Monday, Nov. 13, to mark Remembrance Day. No classes are scheduled for that day.