Norwich

 
 
Location:  Oxford County     N 42 58.848   W 80 35.800
On Jerdon Street, just west of Stover Street South, in front of Emily Stowe Public School.
 

 
A very beautiful memorial featuring a statue of a Weeping Lady.  The statue, made of Italian Carrara marble, is said by the Oxford County website to represent the local "Quaker response of pacifism and the futility of war". 

"How interesting it is that the Norwich Gazette of May 26, 1921 had written about the sculpted marble figure of the weeping lady recently unveiled at the Norwich High School Memorial Park in the following words:
The whole idea is allegorical. It is a personification of the Spirit of Canada, bowed in grief and sorrow and weeping for her lost sons. This intends to perpetuate the memory of the disastrous results of the Great World War."
Source:   http://www.norwichgazette.com/2017/09/12/notes-on-norwichs-weeping-lady-cenotaph

That being said, the names of those local men who died in the World Wars, those who bravely answered the call of King and country and made the supreme sacrifice for our freedom and forever engraved in the Scottish Granite stele that supports the grieving lady.  The memorial was unveiled on Victoria Day in 1921 in front of the high school.  It was moved to this location in 1952, and the names of the dead from WWII were added at that time.  The names of those lost in WWI are engraved on the front and back of the memorial, while those lost in WWII are found on the sides.
Some folks would suggest that this statue helped influence the cloaked Mother Canada figure, part of the Vimy Memorial commissioned by the Canadian government.
The Norwich Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion recently had some cleaning and restoration work done on the memorial.


 
Marker text:
Front:
ERECTED BY THE VILLAGE OF NORWICH
& TOWNSHIP OF NORTH NORWICH,
TO COMMEMORATE THE SERVICE & SACRIFICE
OF THEIR CITIZEN SOLDIERS IN THE WORLD WAR
1914   -   "LEST WE FORGET"   -   1918

MAJ. T.D. SNEATH. M.C.
LIEUT. J.F. DICKSON
LIEUT. P. JOHNSON
LIEUT. A. ROWE
CORP. H. COLES
L.CORP. A. STRODE
SGT. C.W. BEATTIE





Right side:
WILLIAM KENNEDY
JACK B. KENNEDY
HOWARD LOSSING
DONALD LEES
NORMAN MELDRUM
THEO. McCREADY
BEV. NEWTON
MATTHEW POTTS
ROBERT RICE
ROBERT ROLOSON
BROCK ROBERTSON
ROBERT REID
ARTHUR SMITH
ARTHUR STIENSTRA
LeCLARE WALKER
JOHN YULE
1939 - 1945





Rear:
PTE. R. CATTEL
PTE. JNO. STEWART
PTE. E. KELLY
PTE. H. PRIDDLE
PTE. R. NEWTON
PTE. W.A. HUGHES
PTE. FRED CROXFORD
PTE. A.E. CRABBE
PTE. P.L. HAINER
PTE. H.J. SACKRIDER
PTE. A. MESSECAR
PTE. FRED. BLEAKLEY
PTE. H. BARNES
PTE. B. EDWARDS 

PTE. E. SCANLON
PTE. H. SACKRIDER
PTE. G.E. DENNIS
PTE. R. BUCK
PTE. H. PEARSON
PTE. G. McGREGOR
PTE. C. BEATTIE
PTE. S. SHELLINGTON
PTE. B. POOLE
PTE. J. McNAUGHTON
PTE. W. LOSSING
PTE. H. MONEY
PTE. J.L. HARRIS
PTE. W.B. EDMONDS






Left side:
ROBERT ALEXANDER
NORMAN ANDREWS
RUSSELL AVEY
JACK BOWMAN
L. BOYCE
ROGER BURRILL
JEFFREY CHALK
REG. COLE
GEOFFREY COWARD
HARRY DAIR
ALEX. DAIKEN
RAY L. FRAIN
HARVEY HAYES
RAYMOND HOOPER
JOHN KENNERLY
1939 - 1945