Otterville

 
Location:  Oxford County     N 42 55.633   W -80 36.220
On the walkway part of William Street, north side of North Street.
 
This memorial was unveiled in October 1932 to large community fanfare.   The day’s events began at the Odd Fellows’ Hall, where a procession led by a honour guard from the First Battalion, Oxford Rifles, the St. Thomas Pipe Band of the Canadian Legion and the Norwich Boy’s Band made its way to the park for the formal unveiling.

The memorial was designed and built by A.E. Moore of Otterville and includes the names of seventeen South Norwich Township men who gave their lives during the Great War and also those who served.

The fieldstone cairn with the brass plaque is still used by the community on Remembrance Day.  A majestic lions rests on top of the cairn.  Its location at the entrance of Otterville community park, ensures that each person who travels down this path and crosses the bridge to the park, will pass the monument erected to honour their fallen sons.

 

Marker text:

TO THE

HONOUR AND MEMORY

OF OUR BOYS

WHO SERVED IN THE GREAT WAR

1914 - 1918

DIED:

BAKER, L.

BOWERMAN, J.

BURCH, H.

CADE, W.

CHAPPLE, F.J.

DOVE, B.

DUFFIELD, A.

MANSEL, L.

LAPIER, H.

MALCOLM, F.

MARTIN, M.E.

MITCHELL, J.

McELHONE, M.

OATMAN, W.

SEARLES, J.

STARKISS, S.

SWANCE, G.

SERVED

NURSING SISTER

MATILDA OATMAN 

SERVED

ARMSTRONG, C.

ARMSTRONG, E.H.

ATKINSON, H.

BACH, A.

BEEKIN, T.P.

BEECRAFT, W.R.

BOURNE, H.C.

BROAD, F.

BROWN, F.

BROWN, H.

BROWN, S.

BROWN, W.

BUFFHAM, G.

BURCH, J.

BUTTS, E.

CHURCH, J.H.

CHURCHILL, L.R.

DAVIS, G.H.

DAVIS, J.

DEAN, A.E.

DEGROAT, S.

DEPEEL, W.

DOWNEY, J.L.

DRAPER, E.N.

FISH, C.T.

FLETCHER, N.S.

FOURNIER, J.

FOURNIER, L.

FURLONG, F.

FURLONG, J.

GARRET, R.

GERRARD, L.H.

GIBBONS, S.

GILKS, W.

GLOVER, E.

GLOVER, R.

GLOVER, W.

HAINES, L.

HALLIE, H.

HANSEL, C.

HARP, R.

HARP, W.

HECKFORD, P.

HICKS, O.

HILLIKER, C.

HOWE, W.

HOOKER, A.

INNIS, C.H.

SERVED

INNIS, H.A.

JONES, W.

JURY, W.

LUNDY, G.

MANSFIELD, J.

MARR, J.

MARTIN, R.

MERRIOTT, C.

MITCHELL, W.F.

MYRICK, W.J.

McELHONE, G.

McKEE, C.

NEWELL, A.

OATMAN, A.M.

OATMAN, R.

OTTEWELL, E.

OTTEWELL, W.

OWENS, W.

PALMER, E.D.

PARKS, G.

PARSON, H.

PARKS, H.

PATERSON, E.

PATERSON, R.

PATERSON, W.

QUINTON, V.

ROCK, J.

SANDS, B.

SAUNDERS, C.

SAUNDERS, D.

SAUNDERS, H.

SEARLES, R.

SIMS, J.

SINGER, C.

SMITH, M.

SMITH, W.

STEVENSON, W.

SWANCE, C.E.

SWANCE, R.F.

WAGNER, A.

WARNER, C.

WELSBY, J.

WEST, J.

WILLIAMS, J.

WINN, G.

WOLCOTT, A.

WOOLEY, H.

ERECTED BY THE CITIZENS

OF THE

TOWNSHIP OF SOUTH NORWICH

 

Scarborough

 
Location:  City of Toronto     N 43.70251   W -79.25385
8106 Danforth Avenue, near the junction with Kingston Road.
 
This memorial sits in a boulevard park on a very busy roadway.  Please use caution if approaching the memorial, the traffic can be treacherous.  There are no crosswalks leading to the park and you would have to cross three lanes of speeding traffic.  The roads are blocked for Remembrance Day ceremonies, perhaps that is the only safe time to visit.

The memorial was erected in August 1931, on behalf of the local community and the citizens of Scarborough.  A concrete cross, adorned with a brass sword, stands high on top of a stone cairn.  Originally built to honour those lost in the Great War, plaques where later added to acknowledge the Second World War and Korea.
 



Marker text:
Front:
TO THE GLORY OF GOD
AND IN LASTING MEMORY OF
THOSE OF SCARBOROUGH
WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE
FOR THE SACRED CAUSE OF
THE FREEDOM OF THE WORLD
IN THE GREAT WAR
1914 + 1918

"THEY CLIMBED THE STEEP ASCENT TO HEAVEN
THROUGH PERIL TOIL AND PAIN."

THEY SHALL RECEIVE A CROWN OF GLORY



PEACEKEEPING
 




Right side:
SCARBOROUGH WAR
MEMORIAL

THIS CROSS COMMEMORATES
THE SACRIFICE OF THOSE WHO GAVE
THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR
1914 -- 1918

THEIR NAMES ARE RECORDED
IN THE TEMPLE OF VALOUR
"THEIR CONFLICT PAST"
AND TO THE EARTH BE PEACE



KOREA
1950 - 1953
 



 
Rear:
SCARBOROUGH MEMORIAL
ERECTED BY FRIENDS
TO THE GLORIOUS DEAD
UNVEILED BY
ADMIRAL-OF-THE-FLEET
EARL JELLICOE  G.C.B.  O.M.  G.C.V.O.
ASSISTED BY
HON. GEORGE S. HENRY  B.A.  L.L.D.
PRIME MINISTER OF ONTARIO
DEDICATED BY
HON. REV. CANON H.J. CODY    M.A.  D.D.  L.L.D.
AUGUST 30TH 1931

"THEIR NAME LIVETH"



THIS TABLET IS ERECTED
IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE OF
THE CITIZENS OF
SCARBOROUGH TOWNSHIP
WHO DEFENDED THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM
IN THE WAR OF
1939 - 1945
TO THE GLORY OF GOD
AND IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO
HAVE CONQUERED THE LAST ENEMY
AND ARE CROWNED WITH GLORY,
HONOUR, AND ETERNAL LIFE.

UNVEILED BY GROUP CAPT. C.L. ANNIS  O.B.E.
OF THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE
JUNE 6, 1948





Left side:
SCARBOROUGH
CANADA

FROM SCARBOROUGH ENGLAND
IN PROUD MEMORY
TO SCARBOROUGH CANADA

THEIR NAMES ARE HALLOWED
IN THE LAND
THEY LOVED

AND THE GLORIOUS MAJESTY OF THE LORD OUR GOD
BE UPON US



IN HONOURED MEMORY OF
MRS. GERTRUDE VanKOUGHNET
A DEVOTED SERVANT OF THE
VETERANS OF THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918
AND TO WHOSE UNTIRING ENTHUSIASM
THIS MEMORIAL WAS LARGELY DUE
THIS TABLET ERECTED MAY 5, 1940
BY THE VETERANS OF SCARBOROUGH
 
 

Beckwith

 
Location:  Lanark County     N 45.11767     W -76.08577
In Beckwith Park, on the 9th Line, south of Carleton Place.
 

The rural community of Beckwith Township sits on the south edge of the larger town of Carleton Place.  There has been pressure over the years to combine the Remembrance Day ceremonies with that of the larger town, but Beckwith citizens are proud of their history and their cenotaph.  Today the small black granite cenotaph is part of a large recreation complex with sports fields and an arena.
The memorial was installed in 1920, and the people named on this stone came from Beckwith, a fact the locals would like to celebrate and remember.  This is the third location for the memorial, featuring nine names from the First World War and three names from the Second World War.  The rural community here knows these names as many of the families still live and farm in the area and they want to honour those names here in Beckwith.

All of the heroes behind these names had incredible stories and sad deaths, but one name that stuck out to me was that of Nursing Sister Jessie M McDiarmid, one of fourteen nurses who drowned when the Red Cross ship Llandovery Castle was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat as it approached the coast of Ireland.  The incident was one of the most horrific events of a war filled with horror.  The U-boat captain claimed he believed the ship was carrying American officers and ammunition, although it was clearly marked as a Red Cross vessel.  After realizing his mistake, the captain tried to cover his mistake by ramming and firing on the lifeboats.  One lifeboat with twenty-four witnesses escaped to tell the story.  Some of the German U-boat officers where later found guilty of the incident as a war crime.  The Captain was never caught or tried for the crime.  More information one this incident can be found here:  https://legionmagazine.com/en/2019/06/the-sinking-of-the-llandovery-castle/
 

***Thank you to Louise Bellec for the photography.


 
Marker text:
Side 1:
IN MEMORIAM
PTE. DAVID McLAREN
87 BATT.  DIED OF WOUNDS
NOV. 1 1916

DVR. HAROLD DOWDALL
DIV. AMN. COL M. KILLED
NOV. 9 1917

PTE. HUGH McMILLAN
240 BATT.  KILLED IN ACTION
AUG. 30  1918

PTE ROBERT BORELAND
130 BATT.  KILLED IN ACTION
APR. 24 1915
 




Side 2:
IN MEMORIAM
NURSING SISTER
JESSE M. McDIARMID
DROWNED JUNE 27, 1918
BY GERMAN SUBMARINE

PTE. ANDREW T. HUGHTON
SIBERIAN EXPEDITION
DIED ENROUTE OCT. 29 1918

PTE. JERRY P. O'SHEA
80 BATT.  KILLED IN ACTION
APR. 9 1917

1914 - 1918




Side 3:
ALSO PRIVATE
CECIL SMITH
C.E.F. KILLED
JULY 3, 1918

PTE. ARTHUR OFFICER
C.E.F. KILLED
JUNE 17, 1916
 




Side 4:
IN MEMORIAM
FLIGHT SGT.
E. EARL RATHWELL
KILLED IN ENGLAND
JUNE 22, 1942

PTE. E. EARL PORTEOUS
KILLED IN FRANCE
AUGUST 1, 1944

PTE. THOMAS B. HOPE
KILLED IN ITALY
DECEMBER 1944

1939 - 1945

Mount Forest

Location:  Wellington County     N 43 58.659     W -80 43.751
In Veteran's Memorial Park, corner of Main Street South (Highway 6) and Parkside Drive.
 
 
Very lovely memorial dedicated to the men and women of Mount Forest who gave their lives for their homeland in the World Wars.  In Veteran's Park, there is also a gun from a M109 Self-propelled Howitzer and a beautiful wood carving with a verse from the famous poem "In Flanders Fields".
The local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion #134 looks after the memorial and they have done a magnificent job at keeping everything in good condition and relevant.  Among the names of the lost heroes on the memorial are two Victoria Cross winners - Capt. F.W. Campbell V.C. and Lt. S. Lewis Honey V.C.  The layout of the plaques is somewhat confusing as to which wars they refer to, but I think I have sorted it out on my own. It appears that the upper plaques are for WWI and the front, lower plaques are WWII.  Once again I am overwhelmed at the level of care and remembrance from a small town towards its brave heroes.
 


Marker text:
Memorial park:
VETERAN'S
MEMORIAL PARK
DEDICATED TO THE MEN AND WOMEN
OF MOUNT FOREST AND AREA WHO
SERVED THEIR COUNTRY IN WAR TIME
HELPING PRESERVE WORLD PEACE
"LEST WE FORGET"

LEGION BR. 134           MAY 26. 2001
 


Upper Memorial:
Front:
THE GREAT WAR
1914 - 1918
FROM LIEGE TO MONS
SERVICE ROLL WITHIN

Upper Right Side:
KILLED IN FRANCE

L. CPL. JAMES ROBBIE
PTE. PATRICK SCHOLES
PTE. MICHAEL SHANNON
PTE. HOWARD SMITH
PTE. WILL S. SMITH
PTE. RUSSELL WEBSTER
PTE. CHARLES WILSON
PTE. WILLIAM FOX
PTE. NELSON CAMPBELL
PTE. WILLIAM GLANVILLE
 


Upper Rear:
DIED FROM SERVICE:

LT. HAROLD BRIGHT
PTE. PETER BROWN
N.S. ALICE COOK
PTE. JOHN CUSHNIE
CPL. ROBERT A. MORRIS
SGT. DOUGLAS SMITH
PTE IRA MORRISON
PTE. ERNEST McKEOWN
SIG. EARL WHITE
PTE. CHARLIE A. HUNTER


KILLED IN FRANCE

PTE. CHAS. R. ADAIR
PTE. LUI PEZZUTTO
PTE. CALVIN BAKER
LT. S. LEWIS HONEY V.C.
 


Upper Left Side:
KILLED IN ACTION

CAPT. F.W. CAMPBELL V.C.
PTE. ALEX BROWN
PTE. JOSEPH J. DOYLE
GNR CHARLES DONAGHY
PTE. GEORGE HEYD
PTE. ROBERT S. MARTIN
PTE. WALTER PASS
PTE. DONALD EDWARDS
LT. JAS. T.H. NAISMITH
 


Front Lower:
Centre:
THE SECOND GREAT WAR
1939 - 1945

Left Lower:
L.A.C.S. T. BRADLEY
F.O. J. CAMPBELL
PTE. R.J. CAMPBELL
F.O. W.A. CORLEY
PTE. J.M. DONALD
P.O. J.A. EPOCH

TPR. D. KEITH
L. CPL. I.A. LYTLE
DVR. H.C. McEACHERN
L. CPL. O. McINTOSH
SGT. S. McNEILL
PTE. V. McNEILL

Right: Lower:
CPL. A.M. O'DONNELL
L. CPL. P.V. O'DONNELL
P.O. J.W. PATRICK
SGT. J.W. PRATT
PTE. L. PRINGLEMEIR
PTE. RAYMOND NEAL

W.O. R.E. ROOS
F.O. G. SPEIRS
FLT. SGT. L. SMALL
LT. JOHN SCUDAMORE
GNR. EDWARD PATTERSON
L.A.C. ROSS GARDINER