Location: United Counties of Leeds and Grenville
N 44.626759 W 75.949776
In Memorial Park, 35 Main Street East.
This memorial consists of several parts. The main cenotaph is a stone cairn featuring plaques listing the names of those who died in the World Wars.
Behind the cenotaph is a "Vimy Oak", planted in September 2017, along with a plaque telling the story of this infamous tree.
In November 2000, County Road 5, between Athens and Mallorytown was designated as the "Road of Remembrance", and highlights a row of maple trees planted along this route, each with its own cross bearing the name from one of the local plaques. One more for Athens. A very small
garden
dedicated to the WWI soldiers listed on the cenotaph. It is elsewhere
found at 1 Main Street, at the Township of Athens Municipal Building.
***Once again, thank you to Louise Bellec for the photos and research.
Marker text:
Stone Cairn:
Top plaque:
KOREA
1950 - 1953
Middle plaque:
1914 - 1918
TO THE MEMORY OF
OUR BOYS WHO PAID THE
SUPREME SACRIFICE
IN THE GREAT WAR
ROSS DE WOLFE FRANK
WHITFORD
J. MILLS JOHNSTON
GERALD BOTSFORD
BASIL CONNERTY LLOYD
SCOTT
DELOS SPENCE JOHN
CORR
GORDON KELSEY
EVERETT CROSS
WILLIAM CARL
Bottom plaque:
1939 - 1945
HONOUR ROLL
IN MEMORY OF OUR MEN WHO MADE THE
SUPREME SACRIFICE IN WORLD WAR II
GNR. ARTHUR DACK
PTE. DONALD COVEY
PIPER MJR. DONALD FRASER
PTE. ELTON IRELAND
FLT./SGT. HUGH LATIMER
CPL. CHARLES RUNHAM
FLT./SGT. JASON STEVENS
CAPT. LESLIE YATES
L.A.C. LAWRENCE YATES
ERECTED BY THE WOMEN'S INSTITUTE OF
ATHENS
Vimy Oak
Plaque:
This oak tree is a descendant
from the few acorns gathered after the Battle of Vimy Ridge by Canadian soldier
Lt. Leslie Miller. Not a single oak tree remained standing in the aftermath of
the shelling. This tree, a descendant of one of those
acorns, is one of the trees planted across Canada to mark the 100th anniversary of this historic Canadian
victory. It stands as a living memorial to all
Canadian soldiers who fought in the
First World War including the eleven Athens soldiers killed and
memorialized on the nearby stone Cairn.
After a sendoff at the Athens train
station the soldiers departed for Halifax then sailed to Europe. They found the battlefields of France
scarred with huge bomb craters and strewn with the dead and dying. The weather was atrocious and in the
trenches the soldiers stood in cold mud and water, in constant fear of mustard or chlorine gas
attacks. The smell of death hung in the air. After 4 days
the innovative strategy and ferocity of
the four Canadian divisions prevailed, marking a pivotal moment in
Canada's coming of age as a nation.
Under photo:
On their way to war, dust rises as part
of the 156th Battalion marches proudly through Athens, c1916
Remembrance Garden:
Plaque:
THIS GARDEN WAS PLANTED IN MEMORY
OF
GERALD BOTSFORD
WILLIAM CARL
BASIL CONNERTY
JOHN CORR
EVERETT CROSS
ROSS DE WOLFE
J MILLS JOHNSTON
GORDON KELSEY
LLOYD SCOTT
DELOS SPENCE
FRANK WHITFORD
WHO PAID THE SUPREME SACRIFICE IN THE
GREAT WAR 1914-1918
IT REPLACES THE ELEVEN MAPLE TREES
ORIGINALLY PLANTED HERE IN THEIR HONOUR
