Sunday 25 October 2015

Fort Rouille

 

Location:  City of Toronto   N 43° 37.843 W 079° 25.403
On the CNE grounds, near the bailey bridge across Lakeshore Blvd and the Bandshell.
 
 
**Taken from the Ontario Historical Plaque:
The last French post built in present-day Southern Ontario, Fort Rouillé, more commonly known as Fort Toronto, was erected on this site in 1750-51. It was established by order of the Marquis de la Jonquière, Governor of New France, to help strengthen French control of the Great Lakes and was located here near an important portage to capture the trade of Indians travelling southeast toward the British fur-trading centre at Oswego. A small frontier post, Fort Rouillé was a palisaded fortification with four bastions and five main buildings. It apparently prospered until hostilities between the French and British increased in the mid-1750s. Following the capitulation of other French posts on Lake Ontario, Fort Rouillé was destroyed by its garrison in July 1759.


The memorial is a tall stone pillar, decorated with two Ontario Historical Plaques, one in French and one in English.  A pair of cannons and a mortar rest next to the memorial. The dates on the cannons are one hundred years after the time of the French fort.  A separate plaque explains the brief history and the layout of the fort, along with information regarding the archaeological discoveries made here.
A concrete sidewalk around the memorial follows the former walls of the fort.








Sunday 18 October 2015

Powassan

 

Location:  Parry Sound District   N 46 04.901  W 79 21.660
At the corner of Main Street and Memorial Park Drive.
 

A beautiful memorial in a nicely adorned park at the centre of town.  The memorial was erected in June 1927, by the local members of the I.O.D.E., proudly carved in stone the names of the men from Powassan and vicinity who died in the Great War.  A later plaque was added with the names of the men lost in the Second World War, and a second plaque with more names was added on the back.  The Korean War and Peacekeeping efforts are also recgonized, as a local soldier was lost in Croatia.
A very nice and well maintained memorial.  Thank you to the citizens of this small village for your sacrifice.


 
Marker text:
Front in stone:
IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR  1914 - 1918

MAJOR E.T. KELLY
EDGAR COOK
ROBERT J. REID
LIEUT. MAX PORTER
RUSSELL TRENOUTH
ROBERT CARMICHAEL
GEORGE TENNANT
SGT. W.S. KETTYLE
THOMAS E. ARMSTRONG
L.CORP. HERBERT CAMPBELL
SGT. ALFRED A. MEECHAM
CORP. WILLIAM G. GLADMAN
SGT. RICHARD SHIELDS

GEORGE PHILLIPS
ANGUS BETHUNE
WILLIAM PERRY
SGT. HERBERT L. GOUGEON
STANLEY STORIE
DOUGALD CAMPBELL
ROBERT A. CLOSS
ARCHIE MARSHALL
MORRIS W. GEALL
D. GLENN
RICHARD R. SKUCE
FRED SIMMS
FRANK STEVENS

Front on plaque:
IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF
POWASSAN & VICINITY
WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN THE
SECOND WORLD WAR
1939 - 1945

ROBERT BARRIE
ROSS BEECH
DAVID BESSETTE
ROSS ELLSMERE
EDWIN FRASER

HARVEY LOXTON
MANFORD LOXTON
MICHAEL OWENS
ARNOLD PARK
STEPHEN PHILLIPS

YOUR MEMORY HALLOWED IN THE LAND YOU LOVED
 


 
Rear in stone:
ERECTED BY
CAPTAIN
HUNTLEY McKAY CHAPTER
I.O.D.E
POWASSAN
PEACEKEEPING
KIRK D. COOPER - CROATIA

ERECTED
JUNE 19TH, 1927
IN MEMORY OF
THOSE WHO FELL
WORLD WAR I
WORLD WAR II
KOREA

Rear on plaque:
IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF
POWASSAN & VICINITY
WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES IN THE
SECOND WORLD WAR
1939 - 1945

KENNETH ARTHURS
RALPH ARTHURS
HARRY C. BROTT
ARTHUR BUCHANAN
F.A. DUFF
ALLAN R. ELLIOTT
JOHN FISCHER
JOHN GLENN
DAN GOOLEY
BRUCE GRAWBARGER
THOMAS A. ROGERS

CARL O. GUTJAHR
JOE KELLY
DOUGALD MacRAE
JAMIE MacRAE
HAROLD ODROWSKI
VICTOR PEEVER
HARVEY SCHADE
DON SHAPTER
BERNARD TRUE

YOUR MEMORY HALLOWED IN THE LAND YOU LOVED
 











Monday 12 October 2015

Rocklyn



Location:  Grey County   N 44° 27.963 W 080° 35.421
At the entrance to the arena, on the 7th Line, just south of County Road 32. 

The Euphrasia Memorial Community Centre was dedicated in 1971 to honour those from Euphrasia Township, who lost their lives in the World Wars.  The meeting hall and arena are found in the small village of Rocklyn, and represents everyone from the community and township area.  As is the case with so many of the small farming communities, the list of names of men who were lost is astoundingly long considering the population of the area.  The sacrifice made to their country must have been devastating at home, to lose so many men in the prime of their lives.
The memorial plaques with the names of the local heroes are located at the entrance to the arena.  I had observed that when the doors are open, the plaques are almost hidden, and therefore all the fine citizens that pass through the doors, pass these names of the brave, in most likelihood, pass without taking notice of the sacrifice given by their predecessors.  I still thank the community for recognizing the names of those who gave us our freedom.



Marker text:
Left side:
EUPHRASIA BOYS
WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN
1914  THE WORLD WAR  1918

FRED COOK
ELWOOD FALLS
HARRY SILCOX
WALLACE BRETT
LEITH LAWRENCE
STANLEY WALTERS
GABRIEL LEE
FRED HALBERT
MATHEW BRADLEY
BRUCE WALKER
JAMES RABY
ALBERT SMITH
PRESTON CLARKE
ALBERT WARD
SANFORD BREADNER
ARTHUR WALTERS
 



Right side:
EUPHRASIA BOYS
WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN
1939  THE WORLD WAR  1945

ALBERT E. BROWN
ELROY BOYLE
ALVIN CAMERON
JACKSON COOK
ARTHUR DOHERTY
HARRY HIRVONEN
ALVIN HUTCHINSON
WALLACE WYVILLE
ROBERT WHITE 
 


 
 

Tuesday 6 October 2015

Tavistock


 
Location:  Oxford County   N 43 19.108  W 80 50.623
On the south side of County Road 26, near the west side of town, in front of the Legion.
 

This memorial is found in front of Royal Canadian Legion Memorial Branch 518, alongside a large and rusty mortar.  The memorial itself honours the major conflicts of the 20th century, neat and tidy and well maintained.  I do not have any information on the mortar, which I assume is a German piece, claimed as a war prize.  The mortar could use some paint and care, but otherwise this memorial and its Legion are proud members of the Tavistock community.
 

Marker text:
LEST WE FORGET

WORLD WAR I
1914 - 1918

WORLD WAR II
1939 - 1945

KOREAN CONFLICT
1950 - 1953