UBC Reports | Vol. 47 | No. 17 | November 1 , 2001

Community welcome to attend Nov. 11 service

Ceremony held in gym built 50 years ago to commemorate war dead

For the 50th time since it opened in 1951, War Memorial Gymnasium will be the setting for UBC's annual Remembrance Day Services on Nov. 11.

Services begin at 10:45 a.m. All members of the community are invited to attend the memorial which commemorates the sacrifices of Canadians who have participated in wars over the last century.

More than 50 years ago, students and alumni collected nearly one million dollars from colleagues, the provincial government, the Board of Governors, and members of the community to build the campus landmark as a memorial to British Columbia's war dead.

Mounted in the entranceway are plaques with the names of UBC students who lost their lives in the two world wars.

"I think that recent events have heightened people's sensitivity to the impact of war," says Ceremonies manager Eilis Courtney, who has been part of the organizing team for the past 10 Remembrance Day services.

"That sensitivity, coupled with this being the 50th anniversary of War Memorial Gym, could result in a record turnout this year."

Attendance, including the numbers of students and families, has steadily increased in past years.

This year's ceremony features an address by Mechanical Engineering Prof. Emerita Martha Salcudean who as a child lived through the Second World War in eastern Europe.

Other participants include: Vancouver Quadra member of Parliament Stephen Owen; Dennis Pavlich, vice-president, External and Legal Affairs; Gabriel Meranda, executive director, Hillel House; and Erfan Kazemi, Alma Mater Society president.

During the First World War, when annual enrollment averaged 600, 697 UBC students saw active military service -- 78 were killed. In the Second World War, 1,680 students enlisted -- 169 were killed.