Today the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands remembered those Dutch who have fallen in wars at a Remembrance Day ceremony held at the National Military Cemetery in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa. The day was forecast for rain but it turned out to be a sunny day with a light breeze and a temperature around 21 degrees C – perfect for the ceremony.
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The Dutch Remembrance Ceremony is held at an unusual time compared to most as the time of reflection (the two minutes of silence) is at 8 p.m. in the Netherlands which, with the time difference, is 2 p.m. in Ottawa. So this remembrance in the middle of the afternoon coincides with the remembrance ceremony back in the home country.
Now, this was a quick ceremony, with only the one wreath laid and maybe 50 people in attendance plus military attachés from many countries and a group of students. Although the Ambassador was not present, the Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. Jaap Speelman , acted in her stead and the Military, Naval, and Air Attaché, LCol Marcus De Wit, acted as the Master of Ceremonies.
I’ll also make a note that there were two military guests from the People’s Republic of China as it is unusual for them to show up for any of the West’s remembrance ceremonies. My guess is that they play hockey on the attachés hockey team (the Lame Ducks) and have come to show support for teammates.
There were two special attendees for the ceremony. The first was Ms. Johanna Kinney who was born in 1925 (making her 99 years old) and fought with the Dutch Resistance against the occupying Nazis in WWII. The second was a group of students from John McCrae Secondary School who will be going to the Netherlands in spring of 2025 to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of the German occupation of the Netherlands.
As noted earlier, this was a short ceremony, without any speakers other than LCol De Wit. The single wreath was laid by Deputy Head of Mission Jaap Speelman, followed by the students from John McCrae Secondary School who came forward and, one at a time, laid a tulip at the foot of the.
After the national anthems, the ceremony was over and the guests retired to the main building at Beechwood Cemetery for some light refreshments. 
