Tillsonburg's Silent Walk tradition continues
Article content
In September 2005, the Year of the Veteran, Carl S. Cowden, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 153, made a pitch to Tillsonburg Mayor Stephen Molnar and town council for a Silent Walk.
“This is the 60th year of the liberation of Europe and probably one of the last times that remaining veterans will act as a group to commemorate the end of WW2 in Europe,” Cowden wrote. “We, the Town of Tillsonburg and the Legion, have been conducting Remembrance Services on November 11th for many years. There has been little or no change in the presentation almost since it was started. This letter is suggesting a change...”
Cowden, a 30-year military veteran, suggested The Silent Walk, observed in Holland by Tillsonburg resident Muriel McCallum, which commemorated those who served and sacrificed during the great wars.
“I do not think it has been done in Canada,” Cowden wrote. “We would probably be the first to present The Silent Walk.”
The idea was to have townspeople gather at a location within a reasonable walking distance to the site of a military cemetery or, in Tillsonburg's case, the cenotaph. They chose the head of Veteran's Memorial Walkway on the corner of Rolph and Bridge Streets as their starting point.
Those who did not join the Silent Walk could meet at the cenotaph where the traditional Remembrance Service would commence at the traditional time.
“The impressive thing about this walk is THE SILENCE,” Cowden wrote. “No bands, as little traffic as possible. No talking. The whole effort takes 10 or less minutes. When the walkers reach the cenotaph, they will hear In Flanders Fields.”
Cowden's request was granted, Tillsonburg held its first Silent Walk on Nov. 11, 2005, and since then it has been an annual traditional here.