Last Wednesday, the annual Service of Remembrance honoured Canadian soldiers in past and present conflicts. Over 1,180 men and women from U of T gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars.

“Each year we mourn the passing of more of our veterans. As we do so, this tower, which was built to honour fallen comrades, takes on an even greater significance,” said Malcom McGrath, chair of the Soldiers’ Tower Committee.

“There are those who at certain times in our history stood between us and forces of destruction, and in that they lost their lives,” said Chaplain W. Ebert Hobbs. “To remember them, and to honour them, is something we owe them.”

This year’s Service of Remembrance marks the 90th anniversary of Hart House and the laying of the cornerstone at Soldiers’ Tower. At the ceremony in 1919, the governor general said, “Through this memorial the great name and the great tradition established for the university by those who died will be handed down as long as the university endures.”

The 45-minute service featured hymns led by a choir and the engineering faculty’s brass ring quintet. Buddhist chaplain Marco Mascarin from the Multi-Faith Centre gave a prayer offering, and Rabbi Aaron Katchen read a memorial psalm.

In the final act of the service, wreaths were laid on the Memorial Screen—which featured the names of U of T community members killed in the First World War—by veterans, members of the Canadian Armed Forces, faculty, administrators, and heads of campus organizations.

Many attendees were there for personal reasons.

“It has great personal significance for me. My father was wounded at the Battle of the Somme, and luckily he came back alive,” said Helen Bradfield, a Trinity College alum and member of the Soldiers’ Tower Committee. Brigadier-General H.E. Brown, a veteran of the Second World War, said he was deeply gratified so many people had shown up for the service.

“I think it’s important for people to realize the contribution the university made to previous war efforts in Canadian history, and take note that U of T goes beyond its academic accomplishments and reputation,” said Katherine Parks, administrator of alumni associations.

Dr. John McCrae, who composed the famous poem “In Flanders Fields,” and Frederick Banting, who discovered insulin along with Dr. Charles Best, are among the notable alumni who died in active service with the Canadian Armed Forces.

The service was organized by the Soldiers’ Tower Committee and sponsored by the University of Toronto Alumni Association.