Centennial of the Canadian Navy
Today marks a very special day in Canadian history: the birth of the Canadian Navy 100 years ago. There were celebrations in Victoria, B.C. on the Pacific Coast, in Halifax, Nova Scotia on the Atlantic Coast and here in Ottawa, Canada's Capital.
As my husband is a member of the navy, he (with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in attendance) had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a closed ceremony in the Senate Chambers on Parliament Hill: the Dedication of the Canadian Naval Centennial Bell. The 50-pound bell was cast from artifacts collected and donated to represent the century of naval service, including old navigation tools, shell casings, uniform buttons, ships' fittings as well as some flammable items like photographs and pieces of uniform. The Bell itself was christened today with water that was collected in 2009 from Canada's three oceans – Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic – as well as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes and bodies of water from international operations.
Pictured here is the official Program from today's event. The stoic-looking gentleman in the middle of the image is Charles Edmund Kingsmill, our navy's first Admiral.
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