This silence echoes a moment in time when the guns of Europe's Western Front fell silent in 1918 after four years of fighting in the First World War.
Now, 95 years on, after another world war and numerous other wars and conflicts, Remembrance Day still stands out as a day when Mossel Bay residents from diverse cultural backgrounds pause to honour the soldiers who fought and died during the First World War and the conflicts since then.
Wreaths are laid and a minute of silence is observed at the exact time that an Armistice came into effect, after a war that had cost an estimated 10 million lives.
In Mossel Bay, the names of 21 men who lost their lives during the First World War from1914 to 1918 and 35 who perished during the Second World War from 1939 to 1945 are engraved on the cenotaph. Another son of Mossel Bay died more recently in Iraq. The first 21 lost their lives nearly a century ago and the other 35 approximately 70 years ago.
In addition to wreaths, people also leave small wooden crosses in remembrance of a family member who died in war.
Executive Mayor of Mossel Bay, Alderlady Marie Ferreira said, "I am sure that each of the persons whose names are engraved on this memorial has had his own reason for joining up and going to war. Some may have felt a sense of duty to their country. Others may have been passionate about the cause and in some cases, it could have been a sense of adventure.
"Mossel Bay continues to honour these men in an appropriate way and I would like to thank the committee and members of the MOTH Blaize Away Shell Hole on behalf of Council and our community for keeping this tradition alive and for having made the arrangements for today. These heroic men in whose honour we are gathered today deserve it."
Point upgrade
Speaking briefly on the proposed upgrading of the Point, of which the Cenotaph forms integral part, Alderlady Ferreira said that, based on the precinct plan, a lot was said about the upgrading and the impact that it may have on this monument. "Misconceptions about the Point upgrading as a whole were unfortunately fuelled by people with ulterior motives. I would, however, like to make it clear that a precinct plan is merely a guideline and not a final project plan. What was suggested in the precinct plan will not necessarily be incorporated in the final project plans, that still have to be developed and tested by way of public participation processes before Council takes final decisions.
"No decisions have been taken about the final implementation of the plan and I want to state it categorically that no planning affecting this monument in any way will be undertaken without consulting with you first. If plans are adopted, it will be plans that will be beneficial, such as improving access to, and making the monument even more visible."
South Africa
The famous South African author, politician and mining financier, Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, is credited with the idea of a two-minute silence. His eldest son, Major Percy Nugent George Fitzpatrick, was killed in action in Beaumitz, France, in December 1917. On 27 October 1919, Sir Percy, through Lord Milner, the former High Commissioner for South Africa, proposed to King George V that a moment of silence be observed annually on November 11, in honour of the dead of World War 1. On 17 November, King George proclaimed that 'at the hour when Armistice came into force, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, there may be, for the brief space of two minutes, a complete suspension of all our normal activities… so that in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead'.
The first minute of the silence period is in thanksgiving for those who have survived, while the second minute is to remember the Fallen.
Along with other representatives of the armed forces and civil society, station commander of Mossel Bay Fire and Rescue, Kobus van der Mescht paid his respects to the courage and bravery of the fallen soldiers commemorated on Remembrance Day.
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