Many veterans of Canada's Armed Forces filled the house at the Raven's Cry Theatre in Sechelt last Sunday to watch a musical military celebration.
The Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific based out of CFB Esquimalt in Victoria under the musical direction of Lt. (N) Robert Byrne, and brought to the Coast by the Sunshine Coast Music Society performed Sailors and Songs, a tribute to 100 years of naval service to Canada.
When the 35-member band played a traditional rousing piece, Heart of Oak, those who had served in the Navy, past or present, were asked to rise. About 30 people in the audience, men and women, stood proudly. For some, such as a prairie boy who joined the Navy when he was 17, it was a nostalgic look back at a band he remembered from his Esquimalt days, and it was even more of a reverie for one who had served in the Mediterranean during the Second World War.
Although the audience was elderly, for the most part, they were joined by the next generation, the Sea Cadets, who ushered, assisted and distributed the complimentary CDs to each person.
When the orchestra opened with O Canada, Ken Gibson as master of ceremonies complimented the Sechelt audience on their singing.
Gibson added humour to the event and was accompanied by an ongoing series of projected images taken from vintage photos and film clips as he took the audience back to 1910 when Canada's first naval services were born with two ships and 2,300 men to guard the three oceans of our borders.
The Naden Band was formed in 1940, but was disbanded for a while in the 1990s. In 1998 it was revived and the group now appears on ceremonial occasions and uses music to raise funds for charities and community organizations.
They were joined by soloist Stephanie Greaves who entertained her way through the many songs that Canadians hummed during the two world wars. Surely a highlight was her tender rendition of White Cliffs of Dover. Tenor Ken Lavigne allowed his glorious voice to soar particularly on a piece associated with Andrea Bocelli, Because We Believe, and he captured the spirit of the late Stan Rogers on a rendering of Northwest Passage, a song that reminds us of a contemporary issue, this country's sovereignty in the Arctic.
As Gibson joked during the show, the Navy no longer press-ganged or tricked able men into the fold. The objective now is recruitment through information. A Navy bus fitted out with exhibits stayed open to the public in the theatre's parking lot throughout the performance, and those interested had a chance to sight through the periscopes or watch videos about navy life.
The co-ordinator of naval attractions, Petty Officer 1st Class Mike Babcock explained that the travelling bus that had been seen by thousands at the PNE this year, was spreading the naval gospel. The centennial show continues to tour in the interior of B.C.
