An emotional commemoration of those Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM) employees who have lost their lives in the line of duty over the past five years was held last Thursday (28 July).
The event was held to celebrate and honour the fallen heroes, and unveil a Wall of Memory which is kept on display in the CWDM’s council chambers in Worcester.
Together with family and firefighters, municipal manager Henry Prins and executive mayor Dr Elna von Schlicht unveiled the Wall of Memory.
“The wall of remembrance serves to remind us of our fallen heroes and to keep them in our hearts. Today, we celebrate the lives of Colin Reynard, Heinrich Oosthuizen and Buzwe Gcuze, they are here with us today and will forever remain with us.” said Von Schlicht, who thanked the family of those who had perished in the line of duty for attending the special occasion.
“If you do not remember somebody out loud, they die twice! Today we are remembering our fallen heroes, out loud. Through this event we show the respect and care that we, at the CWDM aspire to share with colleagues, guests and visitors to our organisation,” said Prins.
The service was led by the CWDM’s Fire Services and included a marching parade, a guard of honour and reading of the Fireman’s Pledge to Service. The event culminated with the ringing of the Fireman’s Bell and a formal salute by the fire teams.
“Rest in Peace, colleagues, we’ll take it from here.”
