Monday Monuments and Memorials – John McCrae House, Guelph, ON

McCrae House, Guelph, Ontario

Monument to McCrae in McCrae House garden, Guelph

John McCrae’s grave in Wimereux Communal Cemetery, France

Yesterday, 28 January 2018, was the 100^th anniversary of John McCrae’s death. Best known for his poem, In Flanders Fields, McCrae was a physician and a soldier.

McCrae was born and raised in a limestone cottage at 108 Water St in Guelph. The home has been restored as the McCrae House museum. A monument in the garden is dedicated to his memory. Ontario Heritage plaques mark McCrae’s birthplace and final resting place.

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Monday Monuments and Memorials – War Memorial and Memorial Wall, Guelph, ON

Guelph war memorial designed by Alfred Howell

Flags with a helmet and olive and palm leaves suggest peace and victory

Memorial wall beside monument lists Guelphites who died

Symbolism and remembrance stand side by side in a park at Trafalgar Square, where Woolwich St meets Wyndham St N and Eramosa Rd in Guelph. The former in a monument designed by sculptor Alfred Howell. The latter on a wall of plaques naming those who died.

The program for the dedication of the monument on Sunday 3 July 1927 describes “a magnificent and dignified tribute in honored memory of her sons and daughters who paid the supreme sacrifice in the Great War for Civilization.”

Monday Monuments and Memorials – War Memorial Hall, University of Guelph, Guelph ON

War Memorial Hall on University of Guelph campus

War Memorial Hall in Guelph was built to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Ontario Agricultural College and to honour those from the college killed in WW1.

The hall was to be large enough to seat the entire student body. Disputes about its location were ended when students took direct action and felled a stand of Norway spruce on their preferred site in the middle of the night. Students also excavated the foundations for the building using shovels and wheelbarrows.