This plaque is one of numerous memorials erected on the University of Toronto campus in the aftermath of the Great War (later called the First World War). It commemorates the men of East House who gave their lives in that conflict. It was erected by the fellow members. The place where the plaque hangs was, at that time, an exterior wall of East House.
East House was a residence for men of various U of T faculties. Along with neighbouring North House and South House, the buildings were originally called the Devonshire residences. During the First World War, the buildings were utilized by the Royal Flying Corps. During the Second World War, the buildings were used as an evacuation centre for children from England, and then as a training centre for the air force. In the mid-1950’s, a new level of governance came into being to oversee the three residences and the name of “Devonshire House” was officially adopted.
The residences were closed in 1997, and as part of an architectural renovation completed in 2000, the buildings were brought together under one roof into a new complex for the Munk Centre for International Studies, subsequently named the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. The plaque, formerly exterior, is now an interior plaque. It hangs behind the John W. Graham Library, facing a hallway of the Munk School.
