Bernard Ouseley Brownrigg and James Ramsey Akers, Ensigns in the H.M. 1st Battalion 16th Regiment, were drowned by the upsetting of a boat in Toronto Bay on April 9, 1864. This memorial was erected by their brother Officers. The plaque was made by Hart ~ Son, London and set onto black marble by stonemasons, N. L. Steiner of Toronto.
The 16th (Bedfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a regiment in the British Army stationed in British North America for the purposes of providing a regular army presence in the colony to enhance its defence given the perceived threat of an American invasion during and after the American Civil War. In 1864, the 1st Battalion of the Regiment was stationed in Toronto, and the 2nd Battalion in Halifax.
