Location: Niagara Region N 43.15430 W -79.24620
In Memorial Park, 6 St. Paul Street W.
The following description is taken from www.veterans.gc.ca.
"In 1924 St. Catharines formed a committee and began
collecting funds for a war memorial through public donation. People
entered St. Catharines by way of the Burgoyne Bridge, so the land
adjacent to the bridge was chosen as home to Memorial Park and the
cenotaph. The location was fitting since the Merritt House, also known
as Oak Hill, was located nearby. It had previously been used as a
Military Convalescent home for wounded First World War soldiers.
McIntosh Marble and Granite Company of Toronto was hired to create the cenotaph. It is
comprised of a large column constructed out of brick and granite,
mounted atop a concrete plinth, set on terrace level steps. At the top,
front of the column is the St. Catharines crest and on the reverse side
is a maple leaf. A Crusader’s sword runs down the front of the column,
symbolizing struggle and represents the cross of Christ. The sword is
placed above discarded soldier’s equipment, which includes a canteen,
pack and helmet, signifying items the soldier no longer needs and the
end of a struggle.
A scroll-like ornamentation is at the base of the column. A
furled flag and maple leaf grace each side of the cenotaph, and the
symbols of the different units that fought in the Great War are found
encircling the structure. On the bottom plinth are two carved
crosses. Originally there was a large reflecting pool at terrace level
in front of the cenotaph, but it was removed in late 1930.
It was unveiled at a grand ceremony held on August 7, 1927, by Brigadier General W.B.M King, who commanded the 10th
Brigade of the third Canadian Field Artillery Battery during the
struggle for St. Julien at the second battle of Ypres in 1915. Morning
church services were held at 10 am instead of the usual 11 am and were
followed by a Lincoln Regiment parade. The march began at the armories
and ended at Memorial Park where the regiment (under command of Capt.
Fred Collins) lined up as an honour guard for Edward, Prince of Wales
(later King Edward VIII), who attended to perform the wreath laying
ceremony. The Prince had been accompanied by a royal party which
included: Prince George, British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, and the
Right Honourable Mackenzie King, Prime Minister of Canada.
Masses of people gathered, lining the streets and sidewalks. War
Veterans and family members of fallen soldiers were given a special
section to observe the ceremony. W.B.M. King, Commander of the St.
Catharines unit first under fire in 1915, was given the honour of
unveiling the cenotaph by pulling a cord to release the large Union Jack
flag.
Inscriptions recognizing the Second World War, Korean War, Peacekeeping (2006) and the Merchant Navy were added later. In
July 2009 a heritage conservator hired by the City of St. Catharines
revealed that the St. Catharines Cenotaph was in need of significant
restoration. In the fall of 2012, a team was hired to remove its top to
review the interior condition. It was a solid core, concrete with very
little wear, which meant what looked like slightly shifted granite
blocks were in fact, intact. Those granite blocks have been slightly out
of plumb since the original build of the cenotaph in the 1920s.
The masonry work required was completed in time for Remembrance Day
Ceremonies in 2012. In 2013, the final repointing was done on the
cenotaph stairs, as part of the accessibility work and the landscaping
completed. The costs to repair the St. Catharines Cenotaph were
significant, but community support assisted in offsetting the costs to
taxpayers."
Marker text:
Front:
THE MEN WERE VERY
GOOD UNTO US AND
WE WERE NOT HURT
THEY WERE A WALL
UNTO US BOTH
BY NIGHT
AND DAY
IN MEMORIAM
REQUIESCANT IN PACE
1939 - WORLD WAR II - 1945 1914 - WORLD WAR I - 1918 1950 - KOREA - 1953
UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPERS CANADIAN MERCHANT NAVY
2001 - AFGHANISTAN - 2011
Right side:
PASSCHENDAELE
AMIENS
ARRAS
SOMME
VIMY
1914-1918
Left side:
ST. JULIEN
2ND BATTLE OF YPRES
FESTUBERT
CAMBRAI
MONS
1914-1918
Back:
THIS CENOTAPH WAS DEDICATED ON
AUGUST 7TH A.D. 1927
AND THE FIRST WREATH PLACED HEREON BY
HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS
EDWARD PRINCE OF WALES
AFTER THE CENOTAPH HAD BEEN UNVEILED BY
BRIGADIER GENERAL W.B.M. KING C.M.G. D.S.O.
.JPG)
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