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People have gradually arrived for the military service with full honours in Prince Albert, Sask., for Pte. Shaun Farrell, taking place on Wednesday morning.
Members of the military, Premier Scott Moe and members of the public arrived before the service, as the city and ceremony retain a somber tone.
Farrell, 23, was one of four service members who died at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in Alberta on Oct. 17 when a grass fire grew out of control. Another 39 people were injured.
The service is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CST at the Prince Albert Armoury on Exhibition Drive. The military will also be livestreaming the service for those unable to attend in person.
Speakers at the service are expected to include military officials, Farrell’s friends and the premier.
The young soldier from Prince Albert, Sask., who was killed in a fire during a training exercise at CFB Wainwright on Oct. 17, made his final journey home with a military escort on Saturday. About 200 people gathered to honour Private Shaun Farrell at a vigil.
Farrell served with the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton. The unit was taking part in live-fire training at CFB Wainwright, preparing for a deployment to Latvia.
His family has said that Farrell’s dream of a career in the military dates back to his childhood. He was born and raised in South Africa before immigrating to Canada with his family and settling in Prince Albert in 2017.
They described him as mischievous, hard-headed, loving and successful.
The family of a Saskatchewan soldier who died in Saturday’s CFB Wainwright fire says Pte. Shaun Farrell, 23, was living his childhood dream with the military. His mother, Patricia Farrell, says he spoke of becoming an “army man” when he was about five.
He overcame diagnoses of dyslexia and Asperger’s syndrome and graduated from Carlton Comprehensive High School.
“He had a lot of challenges that he had to overcome,” his mother Patricia Farrell said at a news conference five days after his death. “And it didn’t stop him, so he was definitely an achiever and he overcame … any obstacle that was put in his way.”
