Guelph - Woodlawn Cemetery

 

 

Location:  Wellington County     N 43.56357   W -80.27640

 

This memorial found, in Woodlawn Cemetery, was erected shortly after the Great War by the Sons of England Benefit Society to honour the brave men from the local Royal City Lodge, who volunteered and gave their lives for King and country.  The stone lion on top of the monument is a stunning feature which grabs the attention of all who pass by.  

 I have also included a second memorial, also found close by, which pays tribute to Flight Lieutenant Gordon B.G. Scott who was killed in France in September 1917.  This memorial features a beautifully carved aeroplane at the top of the stone.

These memorials are located very close to the McCrae Family plot which honours Lt.Col. John McCrae and his family, known for penning the famous poem "In Flanders Fileds".  

Thanks to the folks at Woodlawn Cemetery for the tasteful landscaping and perpetual care of these important stones and for keeping the grounds tidy and respectful.

 

 

 

 

Marker text:

Sons Of England stone:

SONS OF ENGLAND

ERECTED BY THE ROYAL CITY LODGE No. 73 GUELPH, IN MEMORY OF

OUR BROTHERS WHO VOLUNTARILY GAVE THEIR LIVES,

FOR KING AND COUNTRY.

PTE. WILLIAM EDWARDS

KILLED IN ACTION  JUNE 13 1916, AGED 25 YEARS

PTE. CHARLES A. LOVERING

KILLED IN ACTION  OCT. 17 1916, AGED 22 YEARS

SGT. MAJ. ALFRED J. JOLLEY

KILLED IN ACTION  OCT. 22 1916, AGED 39 YEARS

PTE. JOHN LOVERING

DIED OF WOUNDS  NOV. 27 1916, AGED 23 YEARS

PTE. LEE BEDFORD

KILLED IN ACTION  NOV. 19 1917, AGED 23 YEARS

PTE. ERNEST COLLEY

DIED OF WOUNDS  JUNE 3 1918,  AGED 44 YEARS

"GREAT LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS"

 

Scott Memorial stone:

FOR KING AND COUNTRY

IN MEMORY OF FLIGHT LIEUTENANT

GORDON B.G. SCOTT - R.N.A.S.

ONLY SON OF ANDREW & MARGARET

SCOTT - BORN JUNE 11 1895 - KILLED

IN ACTION FRANCE - SEPT 3 1917

 

 

 

McCRAE Family Leger stone:

LT. COL.

JOHN McCRAE

M.D.

1872 - 1918

AUTHOR OF

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

BURIED AT

WIMEREUX FRANCE

 

Toronto - Fort York LAV

 

Location:  City of Toronto     N 43.63651   W -79.40762

Located in front of the Fort York Armoury, 660 Fleet Street.

 

This memorial was unveiled June 2018, in front a large crowd of dignitaries, friends and families.  The ceremony also honoured two Silver Cross Mothers, Kathy Smith and Donna Beek who were escorted to the monument by General Vance to lay a wreath of behalf of their sons and the other Fallen from Afghanistan.

Kathy Smith lost her son Private Demetrios Diplaros, a member of The Royal Regiment of Canada in 2008. He was born in East York and now rests in Toronto. Donna Beek’s son Corey Joseph Hayes was killed in 2009 by an Improvised Explosive Device. He was a member of The Royal Canadian Dragoons.

 It is Toronto’s only monument dedicated to the 40,000 Canadian Armed Forces who served and the 162 Canadians who lost their lives during the conflict in Afghanistan. The monument honours the Regiments of the Toronto Garrison for the role they played in what became Canada’s longest mission in history.  The Toronto Garrison consists of 16 area regiments, 13 of which belong to the 32 Canadian Brigade Group, headquartered in Toronto. These regiments are all primarily army reserve units who augment regular force regiments on deployments, such as they did in Afghanistan.

The memorial consists of a de-commissioned LAV 3 Armoured Fighting Vehicle and two accompanying plaques, one dedicated to the Regiments of the 32nd Brigade Group, and one to list those who contributed to the memorial. 

 

Marker text:

LAV plaque:

In recognition and memory of the efforts of approximately

40,000 Canadian Armed Forces personnel who served and

the 162 Canadians who died in the cause of bringing peace

and freedom to the people of Afghanistan.

2001 - 2014

(repeated in French)

 

 

 

 

32 Brigade plaque:

In recognition of the soldiers of

32 Canadian Brigade Group

(Toronto Garrison)

4th Canadian Division

Who served in Afghanistan

2001 - 2014

 

The Governor General's Horse Guards

The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC)

7th Toronto Regiment, RCA

56th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA

32 Combat Engineer Regiment

32 Signal Regiment

The Queens' Own Rifles of Canada

The Royal Regiment of Canada

The Lincoln and Welland Regiment

The Grey and Simcoe Foresters

The Lorne Scots (Peel, Dufferin and Halton Regiment)

48th Highlanders of Canada

The Toronto Scottish Regiment (Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's Own)

32 Service Battalion

25 Field Ambulance

2 Military Police Regiment

2 Intelligence Company

STEADFAST

Dedicated June 2018

 

 

Donor plaque:

THE PLACEMENT OF THIS 

LIGHT ARMOURED VEHICLE (LAV III) MONUMENT

WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE EFFORTS AND

GENEROSITY OF THE FOLLOWING:

7TH TORONTO REGIMENT, ROYAL CANADIAN ARTILLERY

32 SIGNAL REGIMENT

THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF CANADA FOUNDATION

GREY AND SIMCOE FORESTERS FOUNDATION

48TH  HIGHLANDERS OF CANADA

THE TORONTO SCOTTISH REGIMENT (QUEEN ELIZABETH THE QUEEN MOTHER'S OWN)

2 INTELLIGENCE SENATE FUND

BLAKE C. GOLDRING, M.S.M., CD (FORMER HCOL, CANADIAN ARMY)

HCOL ANTHONY R. GRAHAM

STEPHEN J.R. SMITH

MGEN (Ret'd) R.W. LEWIS, CM, CMM, CD

BGEN (Ret'd) G. STAFFORD, OMM, CD

COL (Ret'd) R. DOUGLAS, CD

LCOL (Ret'd) J.C.C.Z. IVERSON, CD

LCOL (Ret'd) V. SHARMA, CD

LCOL THOMAS, ANGELA AND ELIZABETH PAYNE

MAJ (Ret'd) JOHN D. STEWART, CD, LL.M

THE MAAVARA FAMILY

EARL PADDOCK TRANSPORTATION INC

 

DEDICATED JUNE 2018

 

 

 

Ottawa - Vimy Memorial Bridge

 

 

Location:  City of Ottawa     N 45.26990   W -75.70287

Across the Rideau River, connecting Strandherd Road in Barrhaven and Earl Armstrong Road in Riverside South.

 

 

This beautiful bridge is in commemoration of the 100th anniversary the start of the First World War and of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, which took place in April 1917.  The naming of the bridge was proposed by local branches of the Royal Canadian Legion.  The $50 million dollar bridge was completed ahead of scheduled and opened to the public in July 2014.  It crosses a span of 143 metres in length across the Rideau River and Canal.  It joins the Ottawa communities of Barrhaven and Riverside South, which are located a short distance south of the city centre.  The bridge was the 2015 winner of the Gustav Lindenthal Medal for bridge engineering.  Although the bridge itself is certainly a marvel of modern engineering and provides a much needed link for the local communities, let us not forget that the Battle of Vimy Ridge is perhaps the most iconic and well remembered battle in Canadian history.  The sacrifices and triumphs of that day will remain forever in our hearts and memories.  Lest We Forget.

 

Thank you to Louise Bellec for the great photos. 

Marker text:

VIMY MEMORIAL BRIDGE

Opened July 12, 2014

Vimy Memorial Bridge commemorates the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World

War in 1914 and the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a key battle of the Great War, which took place 

in northern France in April 1917.

Canadian Regiments from coast to coast fought together and triumphed at Vimy Ridge,

helping to create a stronger sense of Canadian identity and community.

Of the 100,000 Canadians who fought valiantly at Vimy Ridge, 3,598 died

and approximately 7,400 were injured.

Local branches of the Royal Canadian Legion proposed that this bridge be named

to honour the many heroes of Vimy Ridge.

The Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario and the City of Ottawa provided

funding for the bridge.

Innerkip

 

Location:  Oxford County     N 43.20495   W -80.69293

In the centre of Innerkip Cemetery, enter off Main Street.

 

This memorial stands tall in the centre of the Innerkip Cemetery, the large granite cross is adorned with a sword and poppies.  It was erected shortly after World War I, the names of those lost are engraved in the stone and filled with grey lead, such was a tradition at the time although it does make the words difficult to read.  A plaque was added after World War II listing the names of the dead from that terrible war.  A stone at the base of the memorial indicates that the flagpole was dedicated in 1994.

This is small tightly knit community based mostly on agriculture, the loss of these brave men would have been a terrible burden for the families and the community.  They did not die in vain and their names will be forever remembered on this memorial.

 

Marker text:

Front:

THEY GAVE THEIR ALL

THESE BOYS OF OURS,

AND WELL THEY SLEEP

MID FLANDERS' FLOWERS.

FRANK CALLAN

FRED SPINKS

GEORGE HEWITT

CHARLES WHITE

WALLACE WHITE

JOSEPH COLWELL

HENRY GRIMWOOD

BLACKWOOD PEDDEN

WARREN HENDERSON

GORDON MONTGOMERY

RICHARD RICHARDSON

"THEY FELL WHERE THE FIGHTING

WAS THE FIERCEST"

1914     1918

 

Right side:

THEY ANSWERED THE CALL

THEY GAVE THEIR ALL

W.V. CARTER

W.R. LIVESEY

B.W. MATHESON

G.L. COWING

D.B. ROWELL

1939   -   1945

 

 

 

 

Base:

TO THE MEMORY OF THOSE

WHO LOST THEIR LIVES

IN THE ONGOING QUEST

FOR WORLD PEACE

FLAGS AND POLE

DEDICATED 1994