What started out as an assembly of two at the Fort cenotaph on Remembrance Day has grown to more than 4,000.

Remembrance Day services had been held off and on at the cenotaph since its dedication in 1920, but by the late 1990s, the number of visitors every Nov. 11 had dissipated.

Gord Gillard, a Second World War veteran who spent eight years in the Canadian Navy, was upset that the cenotaph was vacant on Remembrance Day.

Subsequently, Brenda Alberts, owner of the Birthplace of B.C. Gallery across the road from Fort Langley Cemetery, where the cenotaph stands, listened to Gillard's concerns in 1999 and took action.

She grabbed the Bible her father, himself a Navy veteran, had carried during the war, and they went across the street together.

They held their own ceremony, a simple minute of silence for the fallen.

Move ahead more than a decade later to this past Sunday, and the cenotaph was surrounded by thousands of men and women (including veterans), and children.

They came out despite the biting chill and the dull white sky threatening rain, or possibly snow.

Leaves floated to the earth like giant yellow snowflakes while people lined up rows deep to witness or in some cases simply listen to the service.

The singing of O Canada and God Save The Queen, prayers, a reciting of In Flanders Fields, hymns, and the laying of wreaths were part of the ceremony.

Cole Armour sang Blades Of Grass & Pure White Stones, and Amazing Grace, and members and elders from Kwantlen First Nation sang and drummed an honour song in respect to veterans, past and present.

A large contingent from Langley's Scouting and Guiding movement joined the service, and stood in front of Mounties in red serge, and firefighters in uniform.

tlandreville@langleyadvance.com