Poppy Day collections, parade this weekend
Remembrance Day or Poppy Day is celebrated worldwide on 11 November.
Poppy Day marks the end of World War I at 11:00 on the 11th day of the 11th month - 11 November 1918.
In Mossel Bay the Remembrance Day memorial parade takes place this Sunday, 12 November, at 11:00 at the War Memorial and Cenotaph at the Point.
Everyone must gather at 10:40 so that the parade can take place at 11:00 on the dot.
After World War I, poppies grew on the battle fields of western Europe. Forests and fields were destroyed in the war and poppies grow well on land that has been disturbed. That is why people wear poppies on Remembrance Day.
On Saturday, 11 November, the MOTH (Memorable Order of Tin Hats) members will have tin collections at shopping malls in Mossel Bay. Do support them and wear the poppy they hand out. The MOTH is a benevolent organisation.
MOTH Adjudant for the Garden Route district Bill Frost encourages young people to become involved in Poppy Day.
He told the Mossel Bay Advertiser: "We would value their support." He said MOTH members would be visiting schools next year to create awareness of the role South Africans played in the World Wars.
He hopes that principals and teachers will be motivated to explain to children the contribution South Africans made to world peace.
In the First World War, about 245 000 South Africans of all races volunteered for military service; during the Second World War, nearly 342 700 South African men and women of every race came forward. Thousands of South Africans died in World War I and II.