On June 3, 1920, the original cenotaph was unveiled by Mrs. Annie Jones, both her sons, Benjamin Hugh and Isaac William, and her half brother, Wilbert Lean, having given up their lives during the First World War. The names of twenty heroes were inscribed on the cenotaph.
The Apsley Cenotaph was built from efforts of community groups (Women's Institute), provincial governments, private sponsors, regimental associations and veterans' organizations. It was located in the center of town at the intersection of Burleigh Road and Wellington Street, adjacent to Apsley House. The cenotaph was flanked by two war prizes, a 7.92 mm caliber Maschinegewehr 08 (a German built version of the 1908 Maxim heavy machine gun) and a 7.58 cm inenwerfer (a Light Rifled Trench Mortar).
In 1936, the cenotaph was relocated in front of the old Municipal Office Building (current location of the Royal Bank and Apsley Food Bank). It moved again in 1951 to its current position in front of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 381. Following the second World War, the names of the eight soldiers who died during the war were added to the cenotaph.
In October 1982, the machine gun and the round ball on top were stolen and never recovered. The trench mortar was moved inside the Legion and the large ball was replaced with a smaller diameter ball.
