Bell rings in navy's next 100 years
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Updated: September 30, 2009 12:39 PM
It warned sailors of dangers ahead, marked the passage of time and held holy water to baptize children. Bells have marked important practical and symbolic roles in naval history, and a new centennial bell will now be a part of that.
A working ceremonial bell representing the Canadian Navy's past 100 years, cast Wednesday at CFB Esquimalt, will now become its own historical landmark when it's dedicated Canada in Ottawa next year.
"It will become part of the legacy of the first century of the Canadian Navy," said Gerry Pash, navy public affairs officer.
The 30-centimtre, 90-pound bell was cast out of hundreds of artifacts representing the last century, including navigation tools, shell casings, uniform buttons, pieces of ships and other items like photos, letters and pieces of uniforms.
"Even the Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific ... (performed) at the ceremony and presumably the colour and essence of the music will also become part of that form," Pash said.
At the casting ceremony, Rear Admiral Tyrone Pile and Commodore Jennifer Bennet added the last items to the cauldron before the bell was poured.
After cooling, sailors at the Fleet Maintenance Facility at CFB Esquimalt will polish and engrave the bell. It will be fitted with a ceremonial rope and clapper (sounding device) before heading to Halifax to be blessed on HMCS Sackville, the last remaining corvette from the Second World War.
Water collected from the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans over the last year will be combined to christen the bell before arriving at Parliament Hill on May 4, 2010, on the anniversary of the Naval Service Act.
Pash said that's where it will stay for the next 100 years.
"(It) will probably be the single remaining artifiact that will have some important part to play in the bi-centennial of the Canadian Navy in 2110," he said.
lweighton@vicnews.com
v2
