Creemore Legion Branch to Host District E Drumhead Service

The Creemore Legion will host the 2022 Drumhead Service on Sunday, June 5, involving approximately 35 Legion Branches and their participating members.

The Parade will form up at Gowan Park at 12:15 p.m. then march to Mary Street, passing by the nursing home, then west on Caroline Street to the Cenotaph where the service will be conducted at 1 p.m.

The Drumhead Ceremony started in the early 1700s when soldiers going into battle asked for divine help and guidance. In these circumstances, no church was available to the soldiers, so Regimental Padres held these services in the field. This required aplatform on which Padres could place a bible and other pieces of equipment required to conduct a formal service. In place of a church altar, regimental drums were stacked in layers to serve as a temporary altar.

When Canada formed its first regiment in the 1800s, the Drumhead Ceremony was continued, and remains a part of Canada’s military tradition. Following the First World War, the British Empire Service League adopted the Drumhead Service to foster and preserve this centuries old tradition.

The Royal Canadian Legion continues this tradition today by conducting Drumhead Services to pay homage to those who offered their lives in the defence of our country.