On February 24, 1920, the question of a suitable war memorial for Bell Island was raised in a meeting of the Great War Veterans Association at the Star Hall and a fundraising campaign was started to raise money for club rooms for Veterans. Instead of club rooms, a monument was erected and unveiled on June 15, 1921.

The cenotaph stands 15 feet high, including the base block, is three feet square at the base and has a relief carving of a caribou head on the front. The 11 names of fallen soldiers from the First World War were inscribed on the cenotaph.

On June 26, 1949, a bronze plaque was unveiled by Premier J.R. Smallwood with the names of servicemen from Bell Island who lost their lives in the Second World War. Later, a plaque was added bearing the names of those who died in the Korean War.