When the day is done, when the sun is gone, from the lakes, from the hills from the sky. When thanks to them, all is calm, and we can safely rest, We will remember them. (source: Girl Guides Can Blog – We will Remember Them Nov 11, 2014)
I didn’t know this for a long time into my Guiding career, but Girl Guide members have the option to wear their uniform to school on Remembrance Day as long as the school is ok with it.
But wearing the uniform is only the first step. They need to know why they are doing it. And even if they don’t wear uniform to school, they need to know about how Girl Guides contributed to the war efforts we commemorate.
Soldiers wear uniforms to identify who they are, and to show their pride. We wear our uniform on Remembrance Day to show respect for the soldiers, and to show our pride to be Canadian Girl Guides. (Guiding with Jewels).
Did you know? During the First World War, Canadian Girl Guide members:
- worked in munitions factories
- made surgical dressings and bandages
- knitted socks for soldiers
- assisted in the distribution of leaflets for war relief societies
- collected waste paper for Red Cross funds
- prepared khaki cloths and made shirts and other articles of soldiers’ clothing in factories
Depending on their age – you can add that Girl Guides around the world (from Girl Guides Can Blog)
- often risked their lives in incredibly dangerous situations
- stepped into the roles of homemakers, nurses and even messengers of top-secret information.
- showed incredible ingenuity and bravery – some were refugees or interned in concentration camps. “These girls lived by the Guide Law and did everything in their power to do a Good Turn each day; even if their meetings had to be run in secret to avoid execution.”
Girl Guide contributions to war efforts were remarkable. I hope we never need to go to war again like that, but our Brownies will be the women of tomorrow and I’d like to think they will be able to do anything and face any adversity using the skills we teach, and the example of the Girl Guides of the past.
Need more resources?
- A Guide to Commemorative Services (Veterans Affairs Canada)
- Canada Flag meeting for Brownies
- Simple Flag Ceremony for all levels of Guiding
- Remembrance Day Readings and Poems
- Guiding with Jewels We Remember and Enrollment meeting
- Valentine’s For Vets
Sources:
[…] Please encourage your daughter to wear her full uniform (shirt, scarf and sash) to school tomorrow as a sign of respect for our veterans. Many schools take a picture of the visiting Veterans with uniformed Scouts and Girl Guides as we have a long history together. To learn more about this visit Cara’s blog here. […]