Canada Post unveiled a stamp yesterday that celebrates the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War.
The stamp depicts a dove suspended above barbed wire and includes the image of a poppy, a symbol of remembrance and the principal emblem of The Royal Canadian Legion. The imagery symbolizes struggle, peace and remembrance and honours those who made the supreme sacrifice in defence of freedom and democracy.
Designers Larry Burke and Anna Stredulinsky, of Halifax’s Burke & Burke, placed the dove – a universal symbol of peace – at the centre of the stamp. The bird hovering over barbed wire in a devastated landscape serves as a poignant metaphor for the return of peace to a war-torn world.
“To us, the armistice was less about the moment of its signing than the lasting peace it brought,” said Mr. Burke, adding that photos of the celebrations in 1918 were selected for the booklet, pane and official first day cover to convey the relief, joy and hope that Canadians felt when the fighting stopped.
The stamp was unveiled at the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre, which has a responsibility to provide care for veterans.
At the unveiling event, Thomas D. Irvine, Dominion President of The Royal Canadian Legion, introduced the Legion’s Bells of Peace Initiative in partnership with Veterans Affairs Canada. At the setting of the sun on November 11, the Parliament Hill carillon and bells at Legion branches and spiritual centres across the country will ring 100 times to mark the sacrifices of our veterans and the joy that peace brought at the end of the war.
Canada’s war effort was remarkable, but victory came at a terrible price. Of the more than 650,000 Canadians who served with the Allies, more than 66,000 were killed and 172,000 wounded.
After more than four years of horrific trench warfare, fighting came to an abrupt end at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. The armistice signed earlier that morning in a railway car near Compiègne, France, silenced the guns on the Western front and brought relief to the world that had never before seen such a conflict.
After the war, Armistice Day was observed on a Monday in early November until 1931, when a campaign led by the Canadian Legion resulted in a fixed date of November 11 and a new name: Remembrance Day. Every year on this day – when the clock strikes eleven – Canadians observe two minutes of silence in honour of the brave individuals who have served Canada in times of war, military conflict and peace.
The commemorative stamp, which comes in a booklet of 10, is available on canadapost.ca and at postal outlets across Canada.
