On MacDonald Square in Elora, in front of the municipal offices where Wellington Rd 18 meets Geddes St, stands a granite cenotaph “dedicated to the memory of the men of Elora who died in the Great War.”
Front and back, a wreath of maple leaves surrounds the years 1914-1918, over a cross (for sacrifice) and crusaders’ swords (representing a fight for a just cause). In Memorium tops the front. On each side, battles are listed along with the names of The Glorious Dead.
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According to McGill University records, the first Canadian dentists to go overseas in WW1 were with No. 3 Canadian General Hospital (McGill), which was organized in McGill in early 1915. A plaque in memory of three graduates who died on active service in WW1 is on the main floor of the Strathcona Building on the McGill campus, 3640 rue University.
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A church built in 1904 to house a parish that has served the community for 150 years remembers its parishioners who served the country in WW1. St Luke’s Anglican Church is at 760 Somerset St W in Ottawa.
A brass plaque is dedicated “in loving memory of the men of St Luke’s Parish who gave their lives in the Great War.” Twenty names are listed: Frederick W Beer, Percy R Cooper, John H Cummings, John J Dwyer, Herby W Fregin, Harry K Graham, William J Gallichan, Thomas B Giles, Samuel T Greenway, James T Greenway, G Harvey, William Hellier, Henry Kerr, Edmund H Milks, William H Shapter, Frederick C Sparks, Frederick G Thomas, James E Thomas, George M Tyrell and Percy N Wigmore.
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We were preparing not Peace only, but Eternal Peace. There was about us the halo of some divine mission. We must be alert, stern, righteous and ascetic. We were bent on doing great, permanent noble things.
Harold Nicolson, British delegate to 1919 Paris peace conference
Continue readingThis is not a peace treaty, it is an armistice for 20 years.
Marshal Ferdinand Foch, at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, 1919
A window on the west wall of Christ Church Cathedral, at the corner of Burrard and Georgia Streets in Vancouver, is dedicated “to the Nursing Sisters of Vancouver in both war and peace.” The window was made by Abbot & Co Ltd, Lancaster, England. It was dedicated at a special service held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Canadian Nurses Association on Sunday 25 June 1950.
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The Mount Royal Club is a private club at 1175 Sherbrooke St W in Montreal. In the staircase, a bronze plaque memorializes 15 men who died in WW1 – one assumes Club members or their sons.
Continue readingToday, many people around the world turn to London and pause to remember Queen Elizabeth II as she is laid to rest. Great War 100 Reads revisits three WW1 monuments in London that have been featured here over the years. Click on each heading to read more.
It’s Labour Day in Canada and the US … a day to celebrate workers. Like other groups in society, many companies saw fit to memorialize their employees who had served in the war.
Toronto’s Union Station, at 65 Front St W between Bay and York, is the busiest passenger transportation facility in Canada. How many of the 200,000-300,000 daily travellers passing through stop to take in the memorial to Canadian Pacific Railway workers killed in WW1?
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Every soldier tells a story.
John Hewitt Laird was the son of John and Julia Grace Irvine Laird, born in Quebec City. He attended Appleby College in Oakville, Ontario. When he attested in August 1916, he listed his profession as bank clerk. He was killed at Hill 70 on 15 August 1917, weeks before his 20th birthday.
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Two bronze tablets in the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Quebec City honour those who served and died in WW1. Palm leaves flank the names on both tablets, with the years 1914-1918 at the bottom.
“Ave atque vale” (hail and farewell) tops the tablet and “God gave them victory and glorious death” follows names of the 21 parishioners who died:
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Great War 100 Reads 