Belgian Veterans War Memorial

Winnipeg, Manitoba
Type
Other

The Belgian Veterans War Memorial was unveiled on October 1, 1938, in memory of Belgian and allied service men and women who died in the First World War. The memorial was designed by local artist Hubert A. Granier and built by the Belgians of St. Boniface. Depicted on a stone base are a standing soldier in uniform, holding a gun by the top of the barrel and looking down at a fallen comrade face down before him. The fallen soldier is faceless, focusing attention on the sacrificing and loss of all those who gave their lives. The figures were sculpted out of Haddington Island stone and completed at the Gillies Quarries in Winnipeg.

Additions for the Second World War and Korean War were later added. Alfred Wilmer, restorer of heritage structures, restored the memorial in 1995 and the memorial was rededicated. The monument was declared a heritage structure by the City of Winnipeg Heritage Department on April 4, 1995. The memorial was rededicated again on July 24, 2022, after the Belgian Veterans Association fundraised for repairs.

The memorial is the focus of the annual Belgian Independence Day Parade and Wreath laying on July 21. The upkeep of the grounds is done by the City of Winnipeg Parks Board.

Inscription

[front/devant]

PRO HONORS ET JUSTITTA

1914
1918
BELGIUM
1939
1945

THE FALLEN SOLDIERS
AND COMRADES WHO
VALIANTLY SERVED
IN BOTH WORLD WARS

H. GARNIER SCULPTOR

[right side/côté droit]

BELGIQUE
1914 — 1918
1939 — 1945
1950 — 1953

[left side/côté gauche]

BELGIE
1914 — 1918

[plaque]

BELGIAN VETERANS ASSOCIATION
HISTORICAL WAR MEMORIAL
UNVEILED OCT. 1, 1938
RESTORED SEPT. 17, 1995

RESTORATION FUND DONORS
MANITOBA HERITAGE COUNCIL
RIEL COMMUNITY
BELGIAN CREDIT UNION
THE THOMAS STIL FOUNDATION INC.
ANONYMOUS DONORS
BELGIAN VETERANS ASSOCIATION, BRANCH 107, R.C.L.

Location
Belgian Veterans War Memorial

Provencher Boulevard and Thibault Street
Winnipeg
Manitoba
GPS Coordinates
Lat. 49.8948028
Long. -97.1113064

Belgian Veterans War Memorial

Robert Linsdell
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