Kitchener

 

Location:  Waterloo Region     N 43.45021    W -80.48732
At the corner of Frederick Street and Duke Street E.
 
This grand memorial stands proudly in a small park in the heart of the city of Kitchener.  The nineteen foot high granite cenotaph is a replica of the British Empire memorial in Whitehall, London, England.  It was first unveiled in May, 1929 by Honourable W.D. Ross, Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. Originally it was located in an island in Frederick Street, and in 1949 it was moved in front of the former City Hall.  Finally in 1973, the cenotaph was moved to its current location and inscriptions were also added to recognize WWII and Korea.  The stunning memorial was reconsecrated in June of 1973 in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke Of Edinburgh.
Each year, the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, donate four new flags for the memorial and each night the memorial is bathed in light of floodlights.  A beautiful park with benches and landscaping surrounds the grounds of the memorial, although the benches are often the nightly resting places of local homeless.  Sad to see such a beautiful memorial dedicated to the brave soldiers who fought and died for our freedom and for our country, to be used by the less fortunate among us.
A separate plaque gives a brief history on the monument.  The main branches of the Armed Forces and the names of the major battles are also engraved in the granite stone.



Marker text:
Front:
AIR FORCE

TO OUR
GLORIOUS
DEAD

AFGHANISTAN
2001-2011

UNITED NATIONS
PEACEKKEPING
1947

GREAT WARS
1914-1918     1939-1945

KOREA   1950-1953
 




Right side:
NAVY

YPRES

SOMME

MOUNT. SORREL

VIMY

ZEEBRUGGE
 




Back:
MERCHANT MARINE

1939   -   1945

BATTLE OF
BRITAIN - ATLANTIC

HONG KONG
DIEPPE

SICILY - NORMANDY
 




 
Left side:
ARMY

PASSCHENDAELE

AMIENS

ARRAS

CAMBRAI