On April 8, 1920, H. St. Clair Richmond of Mather, Manitoba wrote a letter to the editor of the Southern Manitoba Review, Cartwright, stating a need to honour those who died in the Great War. A committee was formed on May 13 to consider the matter of having a monument erected, and soon after, funds were raised, a site was chosen, and the Honour Roll completed.
On Monday, June 20, 1921, people for miles around gathered at the newly erected Cenotaph in Cartwright to pay their solemn respects to the men who sacrificed their lives in the defence of the Empire. Major Hanson, followed by the Killarney band, led the Great War Veterans and the school children throughout the Municipality, and marched to the Cenotaph where the children laid floral tributes at the base of the monument. Following a program of patriotic songs, scriptures and prayers, the Honourable T.C. Norris, Premier of Manitoba, gave an interesting, concise, patriotic address. He then unveiled the flag-covered 12 foot monument that is located at the intersections of Broadway and Curwen and is made of Stanstead granite.
On March 31, 1931 a charter was presented to the newly formed Canadian Legion Branch #86 of Cartwright-Mather. Because members were from surrounding towns and districts, many more names have been inscribed on the monument. To date, there are a total of 205 names – twenty-one names are on the 1914 – 1918 Honour Roll and fifteen names are on the 1939 – 1945 Honour Rolls. In later years, a flower bed was planted around the cenotaph.
In 2006, the Government of Canada, being committed to preserving the memory of the nation’s war dead and Veterans through proper care and conservation of cenotaphs and monuments, developed the Cenotaph/Monument Restoration Program. In partnership with community groups and local organizations, Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) wanted to ensure that cenotaphs and monuments honouring our Veterans, war dead and significant military events would be conserved to the highest standard of care and dignity.
With assistance from the restoration program, the Cartwright-Mather Legion Branch #86 embarked on a project to replace the perimeter of the cenotaph and to add additional granite for the inscription of the names of Veterans from our communities. Having successfully raised the 50% of the monies thanks to donors across Canada, the restoration was completed in November of 2007. A re-dedication ceremony was held on June 22, 2008 in conjunction with the annual Memorial Day service. The R.C.M.P., the Canadian Armed Forces Air Command Band, The Corps of the Imperial Frontiersmen and Armed Forces members from 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry(2 PPCLI) Shilo were in attendance.
