Sunday 27 August 2017

Nairn

 
 

Location:  Middlesex County     N 43 06.718   W 81 33.414
At 4441 Queens Avenue, in front of East Williams Memorial Public School.
 

Also known as the East Williams Cenotaph, this memorial was erected in May of 1922, to honour those from East Williams Township who fought and died in the First World War.  Five more names were added after the Second World War, to honour the brave men lost in that war.
The school in which the memorial stands in front of, was opened in 1952, so I am not sure if the memorial was moved here from another location or this is the original location.



Marker text:
Front:
OUR FALLEN HEROES

LIEUT. THOS. MILLIKEN
CORP. DAVID G. THOMAS
PTE. ALLAN DEWAR
PTE. ANGUS MORRISON
PTE. THOS. E. McANDLESS
PTE. CHARLES McCLAY
PTE. GEORGE ROOKE
REV. JOSEPH ELLIOTT

ERECTED BY THE
TOWNSHIP OF EAST WILLIAMS IN HONOR
OF HER LOYAL SONS WHO SERVED
AND IN LOVING MEMORY OF THOSE
WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE

IN THE GREAT WAR
1914 - 1918
 
 




Right side:
F/O D.M. WITHERSPOON
L/CPL CHANCEY A. JONES
L.A.C. STEWART McEWEN
PTE. R.J. ROBINSON
CPL. LYLE A. McINTOSH

IN LOVING MEMORY OF THOSE WHO
MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE

IN WORLD WAR II
1939 - 1945
 









Saturday 19 August 2017

Mountain

 

Location:   United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry
N 45 01.926   W 75 29.941
In Mountain Memorial Park, on the south side of Clark Road. 
 

This memorial is dedicated to the Battle of Hill 70, one of the costliest and hardest fought battles the Canadians would face in WWI.  It was the first battle which was led by Canadian command and remains one of the few battle honours which is only available to Canadian Regiments.  This is the only memorial in Ontario dedicated solely to Hill 70, and today, August 19th, marks the 100th anniversary of that epic victory.
The memorial itself was first erected in 1922 and has since been added to, most notably in 2012 when it underwent a huge restoration and the addition of two black granite stones which tell the story of the Memorial Park and of the Battle of Hill 70.  The descriptions on these stones best articulates the details, so I will let their words continue to tell the story.  A German machine gun, captured at the battle is also part of the display.
A very fitting and fine memorial to the hundreds of soldiers who became casualties of this battle, and to those who carried on the good fight.



Marker text:
Centre stone:
HILL 70
Cote 70

Lest We Forget
Noublions Pas
 

Right flank stone:
1922
 

Left flank stone:
This park is a memorial to 8,677 Canadian casualties in
The Battle of Hill 70
World War 1
August 15 to 25, 1917
An overwhelming victory for the Canadian Corps
 




Mountain Park Stone:
Mountain Memorial
Community Park

     A community meeting was held at Foster's Hall on May 22, 1922
to organize a committee to purchase a 22 acre parcel of land from
Charles Robinson for a park known as Mountain Memorial Community
Park.
     The Trustee board consisted of 7 members- Sam Van Allen, Fred
Barrigar, Robert Bryan, J.R. McGillis, Dr. A. Hoy, Frank Milne and
Sam Workman.
     A subscription canvas was conducted.  Each donor was allowed one
vote for each $5 donated.  Much hard work, time and energy was
given to the project in order to clear, level and seed the north half
of the park to make it a natural playground.  The southern half was
left as a woodlot.
     The Mountain Memorial Community Park was officially opened on
November 12, 1925 when Brigadier General S.W. Hill dedicated a
light as a permanent memorial to the memory of fallen heroesof
Mountain Township in the First World War.  The light, erected on a
tall flagstaff, was installed on a hill designated as "Hill 70" and
constructed in the centre of the park.  The electric current was kindly
donated by N.W. Beach.  The hill commemorates the spot from
which General Sir Arthur Currie conducted his first major operation
as Commander-in-Chief of the Canadian Corps near Lens, France.
A captured German machine gun was also mounted on the hill
     Over the years, neighbouring communities came to enjoy the many
recreational facilities provided at the park.  Hockey matches were
played, skating was enjoyed to band music, carnivals were well-
supported, ball tournaments took place on the softball diamond,
picknickers came to pass a summer's afternoon walking along the
winding cindered path through the shady woods and emerge again
at a rustic pavilion, built by S.W. Van Allen.

Adapted from Tweedsmuir History of Mountain
Compiled by Eva Simms  1969-1979
 
 





Hill 70 Stone:
The Battle of Hill 70
Lens, France
15-18 August, 1917

     The Battle of Hill 70 has been called the forgotten
battle of the First World War of 1914-1918.  Unlike
famous battles in which Canadian soldiers took part,
such as Vimy Ridge and Passchendaele, no monument
has ever been erected to remember what happened
there.  Only in the community of Mountain, Ontario is
there a memorial expressly dedicated to this important
Canadian victory.
     In the summer of 1917, Canadian General Sir Arthur
Currie was promoted and made the General Officer
Commanding of the Canadian Corps of the Canadian
Expeditionary Force.  For the first time, and for the
remainder of the war, all four divisions of the Canadian
Corps would be under Canadian command.
     On July 7, 1917, the British High Command ordered
General Currie and the Canadian Corps to capture the
French city of Lens from its German occupiers.  Seeing
that the city was heavily fortified and easily defended,
General Currie proposed that the Canadians instead
storm Hill 70, the highest ground north of Lens.
     Beginning on August 1, 1917, the Canadian artillery
bombarded the German trenches and defences on and
in the vicinity of Hill 70.  The artillery for the first time
in history aided through real-time observation by radio-
equipped aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps, targeted
the German defensive positions and gun batteries for
two weeks.
     At 4:25 am, on August 15, 1917more than 5,000
Canadian infantrymen of the 1st and 2nd Divisions
went over the top and went forward from their
trenches, preceded by a rolling barrage of shells fired
by over 200 Canadian artillery pieces.  The rapidity
of the Canadian attack took the German defenders
by surprise, and most of the Canadian objectives
were quickly captured.

     Despite heavy enemy artillery fire, including
newly-invented mustard gas shells, the Canadians
consolidated their gains and awaited the German
counterattacks.  Over the next four days and nights,
the Germans would launch attack after attack to try
to push the Canadians off Hill 70.  None succeeded,
as the Canadians tenaciously defended the hill,
despite the sweltering summer heat wave, the
clouds of poison gas, the ceaseless artillery shelling
and the murderous machine gun fire sweeping the
battlefield.  Ammunition and water ran low, and
fighting often was hand-to-hand.  Casualties were
heavy on both sides.  But the Canadians never
relented.
     By the end of August 18, the Germans had been
completely defeated.  No fewer than twenty-one
counterattacks had been fought off.
     This victory cemented the reputation of the
Canadian soldiers as being elite "shock troops"
who were among the best Allied troops to fight
in the war.  The cost was high.  The Canadian Corps
suffered 5,843 casualties during the Battle of Hill
70 including 1,505 killed, 4,297 wounded and 41
taken prisoner.  In all, the Corps suffered 8,677
casualties during the fighting at Lens between
August 15 and 25, 1917.

(a battle map is also shown)
(repeated in French)
  
 
 

 












Sunday 13 August 2017

Long Branch

 

Location:  Etobicoke, City of Toronto   N 43 35.428    W 79 31.934
At the corner of Park Blvd and Long Branch Avenue
 

Long Branch was a small community along the shore of Lake Ontario, along what is now the boundary of Toronto and Mississauga. 
Nearby was the location of the Long Branch Aerodrome, established in 1915 and operated by the Curtiss Flying School until 1917 when it was taken over by the Royal Flying Corps.  It was the first aerodrome to operate in Canada. 
Long Branch was also home to Small Arms Ltd., producing Lee-Enfield rifles and Sten guns during WWII.  The factory finally closed in 1976 and much of the complex has been demolished.
The cenotaph was erected in 1933, by Branch 101 of the Royal Canadian Legion, to pay tribute to this communities contribution to World War I, and later World War II and Korea.  No names appear on the cobblestone cenotaph, other than the wars previously mentioned.  A black fence surrounds the memorial, to protect it from the ravages of its urban setting.



Marker text:
Front:
TO OUR
GLORIOUS DEAD
1914 - 1918

IN GRATEFUL MEMORY
1939 - 1945

KOREA
1950 - 1953
 




Back:
ERECTED
BY
BRANCH 101
CANADIAN LEGION
LONG BRANCH
 













Saturday 5 August 2017

Caledonia

 

Location:  Haldimand County     N 43 04.402   W 79 56.954
On the north side of Caithness Road E., at Edinburgh Square.
 

The cenotaph was erected in honour of the 28 men from this town who died in the Great War. Situated in front of the former Town Hall, this park is now a heritage and cultural centre for the surrounding area. A bronze plaque was added later to list a further 20 heroes whose lives were lost in the Second World War.  The Korean War was also acknowledged.  The names of key battles of the Great War are listed on the sides of the memorial. 
The memorial was refurbished in 2012, and at that time a separate bronze plaque listing the names of all those who served in WWII from Seneca Township was also refurbished and located here.  This Seneca plaque was originally unveiled in 1947, but for several years mysteriously disappeared into the bowels of the Haldimand Museum.




 
Marker text:
Cenotaph:
Front:
THEIR NAME
LIVETH FOR
EVERMORE

BUNTON, HENRY
BAKER, FRANKLIN C.
BRETTINGHAM, GEO. A.
BOWDITCH, JOHN
BURRELL, EDWARD
CHIDLEY, P. FRED
CLARK, CHAS. F.
EDWARDS, GEO.
FLOWERS, NORMAN
FREGUSON, W.R.
FORTUNE, F.H.
HANNA, JOS. J.
HALFPENNY, WM.
JONES, ROBT. N.
LOVE, ALFRED
LAMBOURNE, FRANK
LAIDLAW, JAMES
MANIEX, DANIEL
McDOWELL, J.
PARKIN, CHAS. L.
PARRISH, GEO. L.R.
PETTIGREW, MERRITT
PETTIGREW, T.W.
SAWLE, H.K.R.
SMITH, W.J.
SIMPSON, W.A.
THORNTON, ARCH. C.
YOUNG, JAMES


1939 - 1945
WALTER H. ALLAN
KENNER S. ARRELL
NEIL M. BAIN
FRANK BARNHARDT
DONALD BATES
KENNETH A. DOUGLAS
J. LEWIS GIBSON
IVAN W. KELLY
JOHN R. LEE
JAMES McALPINE
WILLIAM K. MOFFAT
J. SHIELD NORTON
C. ARTHUR PARKE
CHARLES RUMBLES
JAMES SAMUEL
DOUGLAS SPENCER
ALEXANDER STELMAN
JOHN C. TATE
JOSEPH P. DUNS
GEORGE R. THOMPSON


IN HONOURED MEMORY OF
THE MEN OF CALEDONIA
WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE
IN THE GREAT WAR
1914 - 1918

KOREAN WAR   1950 - 1953
 



Left side:
YPRES
SOMME
FESTUBERT
PASSCHENDAELE
GIVENCHY
MONS
 


Right side:
ARRAS
AMIENS
CAMBRAI
SANCTUARY WOOD
VIMY RIDGE
HOOGE




Seneca Plaque:
IN MEMORY OF THE MEN OF THE TOWNSHIP OF SENECA
WHO MADE THE SUPREME SACRIFICE IN WORLD WAR II
AND IN HONOUR OF THOSE WHO SERVED THEIR KING AND COUNTRY

THE FOLLOWING PAID THE SUPREME SACRIFICE:
BAIN NEIL
BREMER PHILIP
CARVER MALCOLM
LEE JOHN
OPENSHAW THOMAS
PARKE ARTHUR
SMITH LESLIE
STELMAN ALEX

LIST OF THOSE WHO SERVED:
BAIN ANGUS
BROOKS HAROLD
BROWN FRANCIS
COWIE G. RAYMOND
CUMMINGS JACK
CONNOR FRANCIS
CHRISTENSEN HAROLD
DICK CLEM
DOUGLAS EARL T.
DUNSTALL LAURIE
DAWES ARTHUR
FORSTER JACK
FORSTER ALEX E.
FLETCHER RALPH
FOX CHARLES
GINGRICH HAROLD
GUYATT DR. BEN
HARRISON STANLEY
HAMILTON MARY
HAMILTON MURRAY
HEWITT LORENE
HANNAH ROY
HANNIGAN MERLE

HANNIGAN NORMAN
HAWTHORNE AUBREY
HYSLOP RALPH
HYSLOP JOHN
HYSLOP KENNETH
JAKEMAN ALFRED
KOLLEE MATTHEW
KOLLEE WILLIAM
KLUSS CHESTER
LYNCH JOHN
LAIDMAN HAROLD
LEE GEORGE A.
LEFFLEY THOMAS
LEFFLEY ROBERT
LEDGER THOMAS
LONG JOHN
LONG JAMES
LONG COLIN
LONG ALEX
LATTIMER ALETHA
MANNING FRANK
MARTIN JOHN R.
MARTIN WILLIAM P.

MARTIN ROBERT O.
MARTINDALE WILLIAM
MOORE MURRAY
MOORE LYLE
MITCHELL WESLEY
OVEREND HARRY
OVEREND EARL
OTTERMAN MATTHEW
PATTERSON MURRAY P.
PATTERSON HUGH B.
PARKE STANLEY
RIDLEY FRANK
RIDELL ALLEN
ROBINSON FRANCIS
RUNCHEY BLAKE
ROBINSON FRED
ROBINSON THOMAS
ROSS JAMES
RENSHAW DONALD
RENSHAW CLIFFORD
ROBINSON LEO
STONEMAN WILFRED
SHELLARD NEVILLE

SMITH NORMAN
SMITH MARGARET
SMITH JOSEPH
SPITTAL JAMES
STROUD JOHN
SHIPWAY JAMES
SMUCK EDGAR
TEMPLETON WILFRED
TEMPLETON ROY
TEMPLETON MARGARET J.
TWEEDLE RAYMOND
THOMPSOM JAMES
THOMPSON EVERETT
THOMPSON STEWART
WALES ELMER
WILLIAMSON ALLAN
WALKER JOHN
WARRING LOUIS
WARRING JAMES
YOUNG FRANK A.
YOUNG KENNETH
YOUNG DAVID

ERECTED BY THE TOWNSHIP OF SENECA