Islanders reflect on the 'scars of war' during Charlottetown ...

Huddled together in the hundreds, people from across Prince Edward Island stood together before the cenotaph in Charlottetown to honour and remember military veterans and their sacrifice.

This solemn moment happens as the nation, and the world, marks 105 years since the end of the First World War — which claimed the lives of nearly 61,000 Canadians, with 172,000 more wounded.

Charlottetown's Remembrance Day service is one of many happening across Prince Edward Island, the country and the Commonwealth. 

The historical address of this year's ceremony in the Island's capital is on one young Islander's harrowing story facing the horrors of the First World War.

His name was Pte. William Walter Riley, and he was "the last Islander to fall," says Maj. Rev. Tom Hamilton, who leads the Remembrance Day ceremony in Charlottetown each year. 

'He laid down his life for his friends'

Riley was born in August of 1893 and hails from Wilmot, P.E.I., an area in Summerside's eastern reaches.

He was 21 when he enlisted to fight in the First World War. Shortly after, the young farmer from Wilmot was off to the front lines in Europe.

Featured VideoMaj. Rev. Tom Hamilton tells Islanders the story of Pte. William Walter Riley, who was the 'last Islander to fall' in the First World War.

Hamilton's speech during the ceremony in Charlottetown recounted some of Riley's experiences in war.

Riley worked on repairing trenches under constant bombardment, and was shot in the back while doing so. Within a month, Hamilton said, Riley was again with his unit and raiding German lines. But he'd been shot once more — this time the bullet severed his spinal cord.

"There was concern he would die on the battlefield, but he was carried out of the front lines," Hamilton said.

"He desperately wanted to regain feeling and movement in his lower body, but he was forced to face an agonizing truth: he would never walk again."

Today we honour the sacrifice of our fallen who did not return.— Maj. Rev. Tom Hamilton

Riley returned home to P.E.I., but he never recovered. He died 105 years ago today, Nov. 11, 1918. 

He was 25 years old.

Riley's headstone is in the Summerside Peoples' Cemetery and says: "He laid down his life for his friends."

Riley's story shows the 'scars of war'

Riley was one of the hundreds of Islanders who died in the First World War.

Hamilton said Riley's death carries meaning both for his time and for Canadians today.

"His untimely death speaks to the sacrifice of those in uniform who fell wounded on the battlefield and returned home and were forced to deal with the physical, mental and spiritual scars of war that are often inflicted on veterans and their families," Hamilton said.

"Today we honour the sacrifice of our fallen who did not return, and we also stand in support of our veterans — many of whom carry unseen wounds and scars."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cody MacKay is a writer, editor and social media producer for CBC News on Prince Edward Island. From Summerside, he's a UPEI history and Carleton masters of journalism grad who joined CBC P.E.I. in 2017. You can reach him at [email protected] or on social media as @CodyBMac

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