Brampton

 

Location:  N 43° 41.073 W 079° 45.528  Located on the west side of Main Street, north of Wellington Street, in Memorial Square.


The symbols expressed in the Monument are Service, Sacrifice and Victory. Carved from superior quality, very light gray, Canadian granite, in itself expressing purity, it is of the pylon type, tall and slender. Raised above the passing throng, it holds aloft those symbols and names which recall to the mind glorious events in Canadian history. The ornamentation of the Memorial is Roman. Rising in easy steps from a broad and ample base, the die stones bear a projecting tablet in which is the inscription, "To perpetuate the Memory of our Glorious Dead and to gratefully recognize the sacrifice of the Men of Brampton in the Great War, 1914 - 1918." Above this inscription is a bronze plaque bearing the crest of the Town of Brampton and, above that, carved in perfect relief, is the National Emblem, the Maple Leaf, on each side of which are graceful scrolls. Behind the bronze plaque is a crypt in which is placed a book recording the names and service of those who made the Supreme Sacrifice, and the Wreath of Victory, from which ribbons fall. On the reverse of the Memorial, opposite the tablet, are the truly eloquent and forceful words, "These thought not of self but gave their lives for us." The Memorial expresses a symbol of Service in a gradual rise from the level of inaction through service and sacrifice to great achievement rewarded by the Wreath of Victory. Committee In Charge Of The Erection Of The Memorial T. Duggan - Chairman R. Lowry R. Conover - Secretary J. Patterson F. Wegenast - Mayor L. Bertram G. Akehurst - Councillor H. Campkin W. Beatty - Reeve W. Sharpe N. Powell W. Brydon C. Donaldson J. Conover D. Heggie C. McDonald D. Bull Members Of The Town Council F. Wegenast - Mayor W. Bartlett W. Beatty - Reeve W. Speirs J. Harmsworth - Deputy-Reeve H. Heatley W. Warr J. McLaughlin.
Prior to the erection of the Cenotaph, the Remembrance Day Services were held in the various churches in Brampton and in the Armouries, starting in the year 1919. The Brampton Cenotaph was built on land "re-claimed" from the old Etobicoke Creek and paid for by donations of the citizens and businesses of Brampton. The unveiling of the Cenotaph by Lord Willington on July 4, 1928, was attended by thousands from the area. In June of 1931, the I.O.D.E. (Imperial Order of Daughters of the Empire) presented to the Town of Brampton, a mast and Union Jack to be flown over the monument. In the years since its erection, the area surrounding the memorial has changed many times but the memorial itself remains untampered. A vault in the front of the edifice bears the official crest of the old Town of Brampton, and inside are the names of the men and women of Brampton who died, or were killed, in the service of their country. The dates 1939-1945 for the Second World War and 1950-1953 for the Korean War, have since been added. The Remembrance Day Service held on the Sunday prior to November 11th is a municipal service, organized by the City of Brampton with the assistance of the Royal Canadian Legion.
*Source: Seventy-Fifth Commemorative Remembrance Day Service pamphlet Nov. 7th & 11th, 1993

Marker text:
Front:
1914
1915

YPRES

FESTUBERT

MOVNT SORRELL

SOMME

TO PERPETUATE
THE MEMORY OF
OUR GLORIOUS DEAD
AND TO
GRATEFULLY RECOGNIZE
THE SACRIFICE OF
THE MEN OF BRAMPTON
IN THE GREAT WAR
1914 - 1918
AND
1939 - 1945

KOREA  1950 - 1953

Left:
CAMBRAI

MONS

Rear:
1914
1918

VIMY RIDGE

PASSCHENDAELE

HILL 70

CANAL DU NORD

THESE THOUGHT NOT OF SELF
BUT GAVE THEIR LIVES
FOR US

Right:
AMIENS

ARRAS