Tuesday 27 August 2013

Kitchener - German War Graves

 
Location:  Waterloo Region   N 43° 26.290 W 080° 26.221
 Located in Woodlawn Cemetery, enter via Arlington Blvd, off of Weber Street E.

Here in the back corner of the Woodlawn Cemetery we find a section known as the German War Graves Section, containing the graves of 187 German prisoners of war who died in Canada.  There are 39 servicemen from the First World War and the remainder from the Second World War.  Their bodies were brought here in 1970, from 35 sites across Canada.  The decision to bring them together was made to consolidate the graves in one location to ensure they receive the proper care.  They are now buried two to a grave according to the names on the markers.   The German War Graves are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Canadian Agency.

A large granite cross and a stone plaque mark the front of the cemetery, with the names of each man buried here on separate crosses, two names to each marker.
 

For more information please go to:  http://www3.sympatico.ca/darrenarndt/germanwargraves/index.htm
 

Marker text:
AUF DIESEM GRABERFELD RUHEN
187 DEUTSCHE KRIEGSTOTE
1914-18          1939-45
SIE WURDEN 1970 AUS 36 ORTEN KANAGAS NACH
HIER UMGEBETTET

IN THIS CEMETERY SECTION REST
187 GERMAN WAR DEAD
1914-18          1939-45
THEY WERE BROUGHT TOGETHER IN 1970 FROM 35
LOCATIONS ACROSS CANADA





 

Saturday 24 August 2013

Nipissing

 

Location:  Nipissing District   N 46 05.739  W 079 30.869
On the east side of Highway 654, in front of the Nipissing Museum.

Dedicated to those who fell in the two World Wars.  The memorial was erected by the Soldiers Comfort Club, a local organization dedicated to ensuring various "comforts" were sent to their soldiers serving overseas.  The Comfort Club, with help from local support was responsible for the creation of this fitting memorial after the Great War.  There are also names engraved of those who died in the Second World War, so it appears to me that the top portion of the monument was changed sometime after 1945 to reflect all the names of the local heroes who gave their lives for freedom.
 

Marker text:
Front:
DOUGAL CAMPBELL
BORN
AUG. 16, 1896
KILLED IN ACTION
SEPT. 30, 1918

DAVID ELMER GLENN
BORN
NOV. 30, 1897
DIED, BRAMSHOTT
OCT. 17, 1918

ERECTED BY THE
SOLDIERS COMFORT CLUB
OF THE TOWNSHIP OF NIPISSING
AND SYMPATHIZERS.
IN HONOUR OF OUR BOYS
WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR
1914 - 1918



Left:
WILLIAM ARTHUR GORMAN
BORN SEPT. 28, 1896
DIED JUNE 3, 1918

WILLIAM BOYNTON PERRY
BORN
APRIL 3, 1899
KILLED IN ACTION
JUNE 21, 1918
 

Back:
J.A. BRUCE GRAWBARGER
BORN
JUNE 18, 1918
DIED, OCT. 10, 1944

HAROLD ODROWSKI
BORN
MAR. 18, 1917
DIED
AUG. 8, 1944
 

Right:
STANLEY STORIE
BORN
JULY 28, 1895
DIED
SEPT. 30, 1918

CHARLES L. BUFFY
BORN
JULY 22, 1923
DIED
DEC. 5, 1944
 
 

Saturday 17 August 2013

Kingston - Great War Memorial

 

Location:  Frontenac County, City of Kingston  N 44° 13.545 W 076° 29.235
At the edge of the City Park on West Street, at the end of Wellington Street.

A beautiful statue and memorial, dedicated to the men of the 21st Canadian Infantry Battalion of the C.E.F., and the battles they fought and died in during the Great War.  The list of battles is long, as the men from Kingston were in the fight from beginning to end an fought valiantly throughout the war.
The statue on top of this memorial features a brave soldier, with bayonet fixed, leading a charge into the face of the enemy.  The bravery of our soldiers throughout these battles can never be underestimated.  The price was high, but victory was ours.
 

Marker text:
Front:
(crest of the 21st Battalion)
TO THE MEMORY OF
OUR VALIANT COMRADES
OF THE TWENTY FIRST
CANADIAN INFANTRY
BATTALION C.E.F.
WHO IN THE GREAT WAR
MADE THE
SUPREME SACRIFICE
1914-1918

"TO THE END. TO THE END. THEY REMAIN."
 

Left:
ARRAS
VIMY RIDGE
HILL 70
 

Rear:
MOUNT SORREL
SOMME '16 '18
FLERS COURCELETTE
THIEPVAL
ANCRE HEIGHTS
YPRES '17
PASSCHENDAELE
DROCOURT-QUEANT
HINDENBURG LINE
CANAL DU NORD
PURSUIT TO MONS
FRANCE AND FLANDERS
1915-1918
 



Right:
AMIENS
SCARPE '18
CAMBRAI '18









Wednesday 14 August 2013

Kearney

 

Location:  Parry Sound District   N 45 33.370  W 079 12.909
At the entrance to the Legion, on Park Road.

A simple yet effective memorial outside the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 276.  As usual, the Kearney Legion is very active in the local community, hosting events and tending to the needs of our veterans.
The memorial consists of a stone wall with the names of the major wars of the 1900's and a brass plaque with a piece of the famous poem In Flanders Fields.  The memorial was built in 1991 by Robert Murdy.
 

Marker text:
Engraved in stone:
WWI                                          WWII
            LEST WE FORGET
                     KOREA
 

Brass plaque:
THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD
AS WE THAT ARE LEFT GROW OLD
TIME WILL NOT WEARY THEM
NOR THE YEARS CONDEMN
AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN
AND IN THE MORNING
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM



Sunday 11 August 2013

Port Hope - Lt. Col. Williams



Location:  Northumberland County   N 43 56.941  W 078 17.568
In front of the Town Hall, at 56 Queen Street.

This memorial, erected by the town of Port Hope and supporters from across Canada, is dedicated to the memory of Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur T.H. Williams, a local Member of Parliament and commander of Militia troops at the Battle of Batoche during the North West Rebellion.  A plaque on the left side commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Midland Regiment's action in the Battle of Batoche.


Marker text:
Front:
TO COMMEMORATE
THE DEVOTED PATRIOTISM AND HEROIC BRAVERY OF
LIEUTENANT COLONEL
ARTHUR T.H. WILLIAMS MP.
COMMANDING THE
MIDLAND BATTALION OF THE VOLUNTEER MILITIA WHO
AFTER GALLANTLY LEADING THE VICTORIOUS AND
DECISIVE CHARGE AT THE BATTLE OF BATOCHE
DURING THE REBELLION IN THE NORTH-WEST
TERRITORIES
DIED OF SICKNESS CONTRACTED IN THE DISCHARGE OF
HIS DUTY, NEAR FORT PITT, N.W.T.
ON THE 4TH JULY 1885

THIS MONUMENT
IS ERECTED BY HIS NATIVE TOWN BY HIS ADMIRING
COUNTRYMEN THROUGHOUT CANADA ASSISTED
BY HIS COMPANIONS IN ARMS, AND THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE DOMINION
 

Left side:
THIS PLAQUE WAS PLACED HERE BY THE
MIDLAND REGIMENT ASSOCIATION ON
MAY 4, 1985, TO COMMEMORATE THE
HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
MIDLAND BATTALIONS' ACTION AT THE
BATTLE OF BATOCHE

SEMPER PARATUS


Friday 9 August 2013

Toronto - 48th Highlanders


 
Location:  Toronto   N 43 39.953  W 079 23.589
Found at the north end of the Queen's Park Circle.

This tall granite shaft is dedicated to the soldiers of the 48th Highlanders Regiment of Canada, based in Toronto.  The monument was erected in 1923, and unveiled by Lord Byng, Governor General of Canada.
Engraved in the stone are the battle honours that the 48th have earned, and brass plaques show the battle groups from the Canadian Expeditionary Forces which they took part in during the Great War.  In total the 48th Highlanders lost 61 officers and 1406 men in the First World War, and suffered with 351 dead in the Second World War.
This is a stunning memorial to one of Canada's most decorated regiments.


Marker text:
Front:
SOUTH AFRICA

1914-1918
TO THE GLORIOUS
MEMORY OF
THOSE WHO DIED AND
TO THE UNDYING
HONOUR OF THOSE
WHO SERVED.
THIS MONUMENT
IS ERECTED BY
THEIR REGIMENT
THE 48TH
HIGHLANDERS
OF CANADA
DILEAS GU BRATH
1939-1945
 

Left:
HILL 70
PASSCHENDAELE
AMIENS
DROCOURT-QUEANT
CANAL DU NORD
 

Rear:
SICILY
ASSORO
CAMPOBASSO
ORTONA
LIRI VALLEY
HITLER LINE
GOTHIC LINE
RIMINI LINE
LAMONE CROSSING
APELDOORN
 

Right:
YPRES
FESTUBERT
MOUNT SORREL
SOMME
VIMY



Sunday 4 August 2013

Bayfield

 

Location:  Huron County   N 43 33.730  W 081 41.870
Located in the centre of Clan Gregor Square, on the west side of Highway 21.
 

"On July 26, 1933, this memorial Cairn, bearing the names of 8 men killed in action was dedicated to those from Bayfield who served and sacrificed in World War I.  Virtually every eligible man and two nurses volunteered for service.  Of those, one in three would never return to the shores of Lake Huron.  Those who did return where affected for life by their many wounds.

At a re-dedication ceremony on August 10, 1947, the names of those killed in World War II were added to this Cairn.  As in World War I, virtually every able bodied man in the community signed up to serve.  Casualties were fewer but war once more profoundly scarred this village.

Today, the 75th anniversary of that original dedication, this memorial to their sacrifice is re-dedicated following an extensive restoration.

"To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields."
 

Surrounding the cobblestone Cairn, each of those who died in the World War is individually featured on his own plaque along with an engraving of his likeness.


 
 

Marker text:
Front:
CANADA
IN MEMORY OF
THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES
FOR THEIR COUNTRY IN THE
1914   GREAT WAR   1918

HARVEY CURRIE
KENNETH CURRIE
WILFRED TOMS
ROBERT McLEOD

ALLAN MacDONALD
VICTOR EVANS
EDWARD ADLEY
ARTHUR CLARKE
 

 

Rear:
IN MEMORY OF
THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES
FOR THEIR COUNTRY
IN THE SECOND GREAT WAR
1939 - 1945

WARRANT OFFICER
RICHARD V. WESTON

MERCHANT SEAMAN
ROBERT DAVID JAMES HOPSON

PRIVATE
CHARLES STEWART CANN

"THEY DIED THAT HONOUR AND JUSTICE
MAY LIVE."