For many years now, Nov. 11 has been one of the busiest days of the year for Gerard Helmond.
This year on Nov. 11, Helmond will play the traditional tunes of Remembrance Day on the bugle at a morning service in Waterloo, the afternoon service in Drayton and an evening service in Elmira.
The Waterloo resident is a member of the Waterloo Region Police Band (WRPB). With skilled buglers much in demand, he makes himself available to perform at as many services as possible.
For the past decade, he’s been providing music, including The Last Post, for the Drayton Remembrance Day service through a connection with the Elmira Legion branch, which assists with the Drayton ceremonies.
Memories of wartime
Helmond began playing the bugle at the age of nine in his native Holland. He came to Canada with his family in 1955, at the age of 14. Before that, he recalls as a child watching V1 and V2 rockets flying overhead on their way to strike England, from his home in Gouda.
Although not a police officer, Helmond has been playing with the WRPB for the past 34 years. He said the band is made up of 90 per cent civilians.
“If you had to put together a 60 or 70-piece band out of just police officers, it would be pretty difficult,” he notes, adding the band includes people from many walks of life “who just enjoy playing music.”
However, he notes, “because I am in uniform, I have to get authorization for anything I do on my own,” such as the Drayton Nov. 11 service.
Helmond is also busy in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day, playing at services in churches, schools and other venues. He is also often called upon to play at the funerals of war veterans.
Cenotaph service Nov. 11
The 2012 Remembrance Day Service in Drayton will be held on Nov. 11 at 2:30pm at the cenotaph in Drayton Memorial Park.
