The war memorial in Smiths Falls War Memorial stands in Veterans Memorial Park on Beckwith St S at Confederation Dr (Canal St on some maps), next to the Rideau River lock station. The grey granite, rough-cut at the bottom, rises into a cross. Torches are carved into the foreshortened crossbar. On the front, a bronze rifle at reverse arms is draped with maple leaves. A peace dove with laurel swoops down above it.
“Lest we forget” and “they gave their today for our tomorrow” are the epitaphs, the latter a take on John Maxwell Edmunds’ 1916 epitaph, “When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today”
Battle honours are listed on each side of the base:
- YPRES, FESTUBERT, GIVENCHY – 1915
- SOMME, SANCTUARY WOOD, COURCELETTE – 1916
- VIMY RIDGE, HILL 70, LENS, PASSCHENDAELE – 1917
- AMIENS, ARRAS, BOURLON WOOD, CAMBRAI – 1918
The citizens of Smiths Falls named their “gallant dead” on the back of the monument. The first name of Nursing Sister Menagh is unfortunately not included.
Local high school students gathered information about some of the people listed on the monument, which the Rideau Canal Museum has posted on the Virtual Museum of Canada.
Ooh! Dr Isabella Stenhouse is this week’s Shero of History.
Great War 100 Reads 
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