In August 1920, Alliston Town Council organized a committee to raise funds and design a First World War memorial. The public and high school staff offered to erect a memorial to the ex-pupils of the school with costs covered by current and former pupils. Alliston Public & High School at 25 Albert Street West was selected as the site. Within three months, more than $800 was raised for the project.
In November 1918, Dr. F.G. Banting wrote Alliston's Mayor stating that the 44th Battalion, having captured numerous German machine guns, offered one to Banting to present to his hometown of Alliston. In August 1920, the Canadian War Trophies Commission wrote Alliston's Mayor informing him that trench mortar No. 1110 was allotted to Alliston. Council agreed to have both guns placed at the memorial, one on each side.
The dedication took place during the ‘Old Boys and Girls Reunion’ (former Allistonians) on July 17 - 19, 1921, with three thousand people in attendance. The memorial was officially unveiled in front of the school on July 18, 1921. A bronze plaque adorns the front of the memorial and was designed by the Group of 7, while on the back are engraved the major battles of the First World War.
In 1961, Alliston Public School Board removed the two guns from the memorial as a result of ongoing vandalism. The German machine gun from by Sir F.G. Banting was donated to the South Simcoe Pioneer Museum (renamed Museum on the Boyne). The gun, a Spandau Maschinengewehr, was later placed on permanent display at Sir Frederick Banting Homestead inside the octagonal shed that sits behind the farmhouse. The fate of the trench mortar is unknown.
In 1988, the monument was relocated several meters north from its original location to make room for a new driveway at the front of the school. The Town of New Tecumseth purchased the former school property in 2016. In 2020, the Alliston Legion relocated the memorial to its current location with the Alliston Cenotaph directly across from the former school property. Shelburne Memorials donated the cost to remove, transport and reset the monument.
The bronze plaque was cleaned and re-sealed in August 2021 with funds provided by St. john’s Foundation.
