Antwerp and the districts will commemorate Armistice Day extensively on Saturday – Antwerp Press Agency

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ANTWERP – Armistice Day will be commemorated this Saturday, November 11. Both the city of Antwerp and all districts do this with a whole series of activities. An overview:

*ANTWERP: Schoonselhof: 9 a.m. reception with breakfast reception, 10 a.m. tribute in the presence of mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA), governor Cathy Berx, provincial commander Johan Lenière and district mayor Paul Cordy (N-VA). Broadcast live on ATV. The program: guest speaker about Jan Olieslagers, pilot in WWI, speech by mayor Bart De Wever, wreath laying at the monument for WWI victims with musical accompaniment from the Waelrant youth choir and closing ceremony with Last Post, one minute of silence, eleven cannon shots, flyover as a tribute to all war victims. The commemoration ceremony is introduced with the performance of the national anthems by the Belgian Brass Soloists. After the closing ceremony, tribute will be paid to various monuments: the Carré Français, the Common Wealth War graves, the monument to military and civilian victims from WWII and the monument to the unprecedented soldier from Dachau.

Central Station: On November 11, the Peace Center of the city of Antwerp will seek dialogue with Antwerp residents in the public space. To this end, they are placing a mobile peace wall in Central Station. This wall starts as a blank canvas with the question: ‘what does a peaceful city look like to you? Passers-by are invited to answer that question in street art. The canvas with answers grows throughout the day, like a one-off installation that reflects the opinion of the Antwerp citizen. The aim is to draw the attention of the wider public to the original meaning of the November 11 ‘holiday’, namely a day when people commemorate and appreciate the value of peace and peaceful coexistence. All passers-by are welcome to think about peace, peaceful coexistence and their role in this. From 10 am, passers-by can post their answer on the peace wall. The wall closes at 5 p.m.

*BERCHEM: 10 a.m.: solemn mass in the Sint-Willibrordus Church (Heilig Hartstraat), in memory of the Berchem fallen and war victims, graced by the Royal Harmony De Vriendenkring, 10.45 a.m. procession to the monument to the fallen on Koninklijkelaan with the laying of flowers . 11.15 am floral tribute to the monument of the Fire Crosses and to the various monuments at the Berchem cemetery (corner Elisabethlaan and Prins Leopoldlei).

*BERENDRECHT-ZANDVLIET-LILLO: Zandvliet: 10 hours of floral tributes at the Monument to the Fallen, Zandvliet cemetery, accompanied by the Royal brass band ‘De Verbroedering’ of Zandvliet and ‘Harmonie Vooruit’.

Berendrecht: 11.30 am floral tribute at the Monument to the Fallen, Berendrecht cemetery, accompanied by the Royal brass band ‘Willen is KEN’ from Berendrecht.

Lillo: 13 hours of floral tributes at the Monument to the Fallen, Lillo Harbor Market, accompanied by the Royal brass band ‘De Verbroedering’ by Zandvliet and ‘Harmonie Vooruit’.

*BORGERHOUT: 11 a.m. ceremony at the honorary park of Borgerhout cemetery Silsburg. District mayor Marij Preneel (Green) gives a speech. The brass class of Borgerhout Academy plays the hymns. Coffee will be offered after the ceremony.

*DEURNE: 10.30 am laying of flowers at the memorial in front of the Unolaan police center, 10.40 am departure accompanied by the City Drummers to the ‘Monument of the Fallen’ at Sterckshof Castle with a floral tribute, 11 am musicians play The Last Post, 11.15 am floral tribute at the memorial plaque of the fallen from 1914-1918 and at the bust of the late mayor Alfons Schneider in the district hall of Deurne, 11.30 am occasional speech by district councilor Philip Van Acker (N-VA) in the district hall of Deurne, followed by music brought by young people from the Deurne Academy.

Several musicians will play the Last Post simultaneously on November 11 at 11 a.m. at eleven different locations in the Deurne district. This will happen at the following places: Monument to the Fallen at Sterckshof Castle, Jan Olieslagers statue at the airport, Wim Saerensplein, Lundenstraat 64, SintFredegandus cemetery park, Gallifortlei 146, Plankenbergstraat 121, Unolaan police station, Arenaplein, Ruggeveld cemetery and Silsburg cemetery.

*EKEREN: 10.45 am floral tribute to the Monument to the Fallen in Ekeren center (De Beukelaerlaan 1-13).

*HOBOKEN: Park Broydenborg: 10 am meeting at the Heroes Monument with floral tributes and speech by district mayor Kathelijne Toen (N-VA).

Hoboken Cemetery: 11 hours on foot from the entrance to the honor park, with tribute and speech by Simonne Corremans, chairman of the AVOG Hoboken veterans association.

*MERKSEM: 10.45 am meeting at the entrance of the old cemetery, Van Heybeeckstraat, 11 am floral tribute to the hero’s monument at the cemetery, 11.20 am parade to the district hall, 11.40 am laying of wreaths at the memorial of the resistance on the Burgemeester Jozef Nolfplein, 11.50 am hour of speech in the district hall by Dominique Kums (Vooruit, district councilor for protocol and festivities) and Marc Van Boxelaer (chairman of the National Circle of Friends of Veterans of the Armed Forces).

This year, Merksem District is putting extra effort into raising awareness of this theme among young people. Five classes from the Sint-Jozef and Sint-Lutgardis primary schools, who work on the theme of ‘war’ during this period, participate in the commemoration moment by doing their own
to make ‘poppies’. These poppies will be placed at the monument on Friday, November 10. Programme: 1.45 pm meeting at the Van Heybeeckstraat cemetery at the monument, 2 pm a short introduction to the world wars and the importance of the commemorative moment, 2.10 pm laying down poppies/wreaths, 2.20 pm (ov) Last Post.

*WILRIJK: 9.15 am ceremony in the plot of honor at Steytelinck cemetery, 10 am great tribute at the Bist during which flowers are laid on plates with the names of all Wilrijk residents who lost their lives during the world wars as soldiers, resistance fighters or (war) prisoners, 10.30 am performance in the auditorium of the community center (Bist 1) by the Wilrijk quartet ‘Les Voix Perdues’, which performs a cappella music inspired by the First World War. Anyone who wants to attend this performance can reserve seats for free by sending an email to [email protected] before Wednesday, November 8. (EM / Photo Ronny MULLENS)