Lisle Cenotaph

This memorial was constructed in August 1968, in memory of Canadian War Veterans and particularly veterans from this area. After the completion of the present Lisle Legion, it was decided to build some type of memorial or a marker of some kind to honour those who served and died for their country. This was particularly needed for the November 11th Memorial Services and other services that were held outdoors. In both the first Legion (Railroad Station) and for a few years at the present Legion, a large square wooden platform was used, both as a saluting base and for the mounting of the guard during the outdoor portion of the Memorial Service. In 1968 a soldier, Sgt. Vince Sullivan, had built the Cenotaph in Worthington Park in Base Borden. He was approached to see if he would build a similar one for the Lisle Legion. He consented to build it free of charge and all he required were a few people to help him. He still had the forms from the one he built in Borden and a few bags of cement and the colouring that goes into the cement. This was good news for the Legion and the job was done in one week of evenings that summer. With the exception of Sgt. Sullivan, all the work on the memorial was done by Fraternal Members of the Lisle Legion. One of the bigger controversies was trying to agree on the proper wording for the inscription on the brass plate. Some members wanted the words "For King and Country", others wanted "Commonwealth and Country", while others thought "British Empire" would be right. Still, others wanted to omit anything to do with Sovereignty entirely. Eventually, these words were chosen but not until after two meetings and a lot of hot debate. "IN MEMORY OF THOSE WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR THIS COUNTRY" These are the Fraternal Members who built the memorial and some background information: Tom Butler: Born, raised and lived in the Stone House on the Forth Line of Lisle until he moved to Alliston in the fall of 1996. Vince Sullivan: Retired from Army and lives at Arthurette, New Brunswick. Alec Begg: Deceased. Lived in house south of Lisle where Elvis Jamieson now lives. His daughter is Barbara Adams, a member of the Lisle Legion, as is her husband Gord and daughters Debra Adams and Dawn Charpentier. Barb Adams lives in Spruce Grove, Alberta. Jim Lane: Deceased. Owned and operated the Lisle Restaurant in the late 50's and early 60's. Claude Patton: Deceased. Farmed west of Lisle and was mailman in that area for many years. His sons Bill and Don, both belong to the Lisle Legion. At a General Meeting in October of 1994, it was decided that the old Cenotaph needed a face lift. A contractor was hired to do the job. He resurfaced the base that the Cenotaph stands on and recovered the previously smooth surface of the Cenotaph with distinct coloured field stone which further enhanced this impressive memorial. The work was completed on August 31st, 1995.