The Guelph Branch Canadian Bank of Commerce Great War Plaque was found by someone landscaping in a greater Toronto area backyard. Clarence Layne, executive director of client relations with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) didn’t ask where the plaque was found or who found it. As Vice-President East of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps Association and with 20 years of service with the Canadian Forces Reserve, he knew the plaque’s significance. It was returned to Guelph's downtown CIBC branch at a rededication ceremony on November 5, 2016.
In addition to the monument at its head office in Toronto, the Canadian Bank of Commerce honoured employees from each branch who served in the First World War. This plaque was commissioned shortly after the war and dedicated to the bank's 1,701 employees who served in the war, 321 laid down their lives. The names of eight employees of the Guelph Canadian Bank of Commerce who served in the war are listed on the plaque.
The plaque features the caduceus logo of the bank - two snakes winding around a winged staff at the upper left, and two poppies intertwined with a symbolic olive branch at the lower right. The Canadian Bank of Commerce went to great lengths to commemorate its staff that served in the war including a two-volume book of staff profiles and accounts of their war experiences.