Stratford War Memorial

The Soldiers War Memorial Committee was formed in 1920. The group worked with the Stratford Chamber of Commerce and collected $19,000, of the $25,000 needed to build a memorial, from the citizens of Stratford, North Easthope, Downie and Ellice Townships. The remaining cost was covered by grants from municipal councils. Sculptor Walter S. Allward was invited to submit a design for the monument. 

The Stratford War Memorial was erected in 1920 and unveiled on November 6, 1922, in the heart of the City and at the converging point of the four townships. The memorial features two bronze sculptures mounted on one of three granite blocks, which are positioned on a granite base comprised of two layered slabs. The granite came from the Stanstead quarry in Quebec. The figures symbolize the triumph of right over brute force, a theme that Allward had previously explored in his sketch model The Service of Our Men–Crushing the Power of the Sword, 1918, for the proposed Bank of Commerce War Memorial, and would revisit at the Vimy Memorial in France.

The first statue is a spiritual man represented at the highest point of the base that connects the two statues, his head looking upward toward the heavens and his left hand holding a palm branch, symbolizing peace. The second statue, representing strife, walks down an incline, dragging a broken sword in defeat.

The memorial was modified in 1955 and a rededication ceremony was held on May 9, 1955. Bronze plaques bearing the names of those who died in the First World War, Second World War, and Korean War were installed on the fronts and backs of the two side blocks, covering the original engraved inscriptions, which by then had become almost illegible. In 1961, the memorial was moved to Memorial Park.

In 2018, volunteers Nancy Stotts Jones and Lorna Harris, in partnership with the Stratford-Perth Archives, installed a bronze plaque designed by Scott McKowen that describes the significance of the memorial and Allward. On November 7, 2021, the Stratford-Perth Archives launched a webpage exploring Allward’s legacy and the significance of his work in Stratford. It is part of the Allward memorial project, a four-year effort to better tell the story behind the Stratford War Memorial and its world-renowned creator. 

Sculptor Walter S. Allward left school at fourteen and learned about sculpture through books and magazines at the local library and by studying replicas at a nearby museum. By twenty, he had won his first commission. One of Allward’s first projects was through Sir Edmund Walker, President of the Bank of Commerce. In 1918, Walker asked Allward for memorial ideas honouring bank employees who had served and Allward submitted two wax models sculptures. The first, The Service of Our Women—Healing the Scars of War, depicts a woman sowing seeds on rocky incline strewn with war debris, including a broken canon. The second, The Service of Our Men–Crushing the Power of the Sword, portrays a man standing over a recumbent figure with his sword cast aside, symbolizing the brute beast of willful war waged by a misguided nation. The sculptures were never used, but his proposals explored ideas that would be expressed in his future war memorials: Stratford, 1919–22; Peterborough, 1921–29; and Brantford, 1921–33.

[front/devant]
THEY GAVE THEIR LIVES TO BREAK
THE POWER OF THE SWORD

1914 1919

[left front plaque/plaque à l'avant à gauche
WORLD WAR 1

• JOSEPH ABRAHAM
• WM. H. ABRAHAM
• CHARLES H. ATKINSON
• VICTOR BAILEY
• LOUIS H. BALL
• ALEXANDER BARCLAY
• WM. BARCLAY
• CLARENCE BARNHARDT
• FREDERICK BARNHARDT
• FREDERICK BASSETT
• HAROLD B. BATTERSBY
• WM. J. BEATTIE
• A. THOS. BETRAUN
• DAVID BLACK
• JACK. A. BLACK
• GEO. B. BLOXAM
• SMAUEL BOTTOMLEY
• ALFRED J. BOWERMAN
• SIDNEY BOWLING
• JAMES W. BOYD
• CLIFFORD M. BRADLEY
• DAVID C. BRADSHAW
• W. T. BRAZIER
• JAMES B. BRODIE
• P. H. BROHAN
• WILFRED BROTHERHOOD
• A. G. BROWN
• A. NORMAN BROWN
• GORDON BROWN
• W. P. BROWN
• GORDON BURCHARD
• G. G. BURDEN
• GEORGE BRYANT
• JAMES BRYANT
• FREDERICK CADMAN
• GEORGE CAMP
• L. BERT CARTER
• THOMAS CARTER
• WILLIAM I. CARTER
• J. K. CHALMERS
• FRANK E. CHAMBERLAIN
• WILLIAM H. CHENOWETH
•  
• GEO. CHRISTIE
• JOHN L. CLARK
• STANLEY F. CLARK
• JAS. T. CLARKE
• ROBERT J. CLARKE
• JAMES J. COLLINS
• JOHN COLLINS
• HENRY CONWAY
• ERNEST W. COOK
• JAS. E. COOPER
• JOHN C. COOPER
• CHAS. T. CORKE
• J. S. CRERAR
• ENOCH J. CRICH
• WM. C. CULSHAW
• FREDERICK DANIEL
• GEORGE DAVIDSON
• FRANK DAVIS
• JAMES D. DEMPSEY
• THOS. C. DENCH
• HENRY J. DEVLIN
• CHARLES DICKENS
• GEORGE A. DRINKALL
• WM. J. DUNN
• WM. E. DUPEROW
• WM. H. EDWARDS
• WILFRED R. EIDT
• EDWARD C. ELLIGSON
• WM. J. ELLINS
• ARTHUR ELLIOTT
• E. J. ELLIS
• PHILIP S. EMERSON
• CHARLES A. ENGLISH
• EDWARD W. FARMER
• CECIL J. FARR
• JOHN FARRELL
• E. C. FERG
• ANGUS FERGUSON
• EDWARD E. FINN
• STEPHEN J. FINN
• FRANK S. FLINN
•  
•  
• GLEN FLINTOFF
• JAMES W. FOX
• ROBERT S. FRAME
• W. ALEX FRASER
• WILLIAM FRASER
• FRANK FUNNELL
• W. FUREY
• LEO GAFFNEY
• L. GALLAGHER
• DAVID W. GARDEN
• FRANK GERRY
• HERBERT GILLESPIE
• GEORGE COBLE
• G. C. GOESTER
• JOHN GOLDIE
• J. C. GOODNEW
• JOHN GOODWIN
• W. ROY GORVETT
• EARL GOULD
• CHAS. E. GOWING
• ALF E. GRANGER
• JOSEPH GREEN
• THOS. A. GREEN
• GEO. GRIMDITCH
• EWEN MCG. HALDANE
• A. F. HALL
• FRANK HALLS
• D. THOS. HAMILTON
• ROBT. HARDEN
• ALBERT HART
• JAS A. HASTINGS
• FREDERICK HAWKINS
• ISAAC HAWKINS
• W. H. HAWKINS
• ED HAYTER
• WM. J. H. HEADLEY
• ALBERT G. HEADON
• JOHN HEMMING
• JAS. F. HEROD
• JOHN HENRY HICKING
• WM. H. HIGGINS
• GEO. HILL
• JOHN H. HINSCLIFFE

[right front plaque/plaque à l'avant à droite]
WORLD WAR 1

• B. HALWELL HOGAN
• WALTER HOGG
• ROBERT HOWARD
• WM. HUBBARD
• WM. HUTCHISON
• ALAN J. HYDE
• CECIL S. HYNDS
• WM. W. ILLINGWORTH
• FED O. ISAAC
• CHAS. JACKSON
• HENRY JACKSON
• JOHN JACKSON
• WM G. JACKSON
• A. L. JEAVONS
• DONALD M. JEFFREY
• ERNEST E. JOHNSON
• FRANK JOHNSON
• I. J. JOHNSON
• ALBERT E. KING
• HAROLD KING
• HARRY KINSMAN
• CHAS. W. KIRKWOOD
• MAXWELL G. KRUSPE
• WM. G. KUNDER
• HENRY LACEY
• G. GORDEN LAING
• HARVEY O. LAMB
• GEO. LARGE
• LEN LAVELLE
• JAS. LAWSON
• ROBT. LAWSON
• ED. A. LEES
• GEO. H. LINDLEY
• ED. J. LLOYD
• SAM M. LOGHORN
• ERNEST LONG
• CHAS. E. LOVE
• JAS W. LOWE
• ED .G .LUFF
• DAVID MACINTOSH
• GEORGE MADDOCK
• J. B. MAHONEY
• ARTHUR MALTBY
• J. G. MANTON
• F. G. MARTIN
• GERALD MEGAN
• BERT MICHELL
• ARCHIBALD MILLER
• JOHN MOORE
• JAS. MORRICE
• JOHN MORRICE
• B. MORTON
• ALLAN MURRAY
• WM. MURRAY
• FRANK J. MCCARTHY
• J. T. MCDERMID
• JAS. A. MCDONALD
• JOHN R. MCDONALD
• J. W. MCDONALD
• GEORGE R. MCINTOSH
• O. J. MCINTOSH
• ALVIN A. MCKAY
• ANDREW M. MCKAY
• ALEX M. MCKENZIE
• M. S. MCTAVISH
• ALBERT J. NEIL
• ALBERT J. NEAL
• HERB NEALE
• BEN H. NEWELL
• ALBERT NEWMAN
• ARTHUR W. NEWMAN
• EWAN NICHOL
• G. T. NINIMO
• JOHN O'BRIENE
• HENRY N. ORR
• ALFRED G. OSBORNE
• A. J. PADDINGTON
• ARTHUR PALMER
• GERALD PATTERSON
• FRED PAULGER
• ED. PAYNE
• EARL N. PEACHEY
• MARSHALL A. PEARSON
• R. H. PEARSON
• HOWARD V. PICKERING
• WM. J. PINNIGER
• CHAS. A. POLLEY
• GEO. J. POPE
• JAS. W. POWLEY
• T. PRIESTLEY
• STANLEY PUGH
• JOHN J. PURCELL
• ROBT. W. PYCROFT
• LESLIE RANKIN
• WM. H. READ
• ALBERT J. REEVES
• MANSON J. REEVES
• BERT REGAN
• ALEX REID
• JAS. REID
• J. E. REINHART
• EARL RICE
• JAS. H. RICHES
• DONALD W. RILEY
• WILLIAM RINGLER
• J. W. RUSSELL ROBERTSON
• T. FLEMING ROBERTSON
• EARL E. ROBINSON
• ROBT. W. ROBINSON
• W. B. ROBINSON
• W. C. ROBINSON
• BASIL A. ROCHE
• THOS. ROFFEY
• EDGAR ROPER
• ANGUS ROSS
• ELSIE ROSS
• ALFRED G. SALTER
• WM. H. SCHAEFER
• F. SCHRUBSHALL
• WALTER J. SOOTT
• FRED C. SEWELL
• JAS. SHAW
• WILLIAM J. SHEEHAN
• WM. G. SHILLUM
• ROY J. SILLIFANT
• CHAS. G. SIMMONS
• A. L. SMITH
• FRED SMITH
• GEO. G. SMITH

[back/arrière]
SECOND BATTLE OF YPRES - - FESTUBERT - - GIVENCHY
1915        1915

MT SORREL (SANCTUARY WOOD) - BATTLE OF THE SOMME
1916        1916

VIMY RIDGE - - BATTLE OF HILL 70 - - PASSCHENDAELE
ARIEUX - - FRESNCY - - - AVION
1917        1917

AMIENS - - BREAKING OF HINDENBURG LINE - - ARRAS
CAMBRAI - - CALENCIENNES
1918        1918

[left back plaque/plaque à l’arrière, à gauche]
WORLD WAR 1

• HERBERT C. SMITH
• JOHN SMITH
• JOHN SYDNEY SMITH
• JAS H. SMYTHE
• HUGH SOMMERVILLE
• NORMAN F. SOMMERVILLE
• FRANK SOSNOWSKI
• P .F. SPENCER
• ALFRED J. STEPHENSON
• NATHANIEL STIER
• ERNEST H. SUGDEN
• WM. SUGDEN
• JAMES TAGGART
• ALBERT J. TANNER
• BENJAMIN B. E. TASSIE
• W. THIRD
• WILLIAM THIRD
• THOS. THOMPSON
• HARRY THORNE
• WM. J. THURGOOD
• WM. F. THWAITES
• STANLEY T. TILLBROOK
• FREDERICK J. TODD
• WM. G. TOMS
• ISRAEL TONG
• ERNEST TONGE
• JOSEPH F. TONGE
• ALBERT TOOLEY
• J.A. TREMAINE
• WALTER G. TREMAINE
• ARTHUR J. TROW
• A. SPENCER TROW
• CHAS. DEF. TROWHILL
• A. C. TURNER
• HERBERT W. TURNER
• GEO. TURCOTT
• THOS. F. TUTHILL
• LESLIE UNTHANK
• THOS. A. VOYCE
• CECIL F. WAHL
• MICHAEL WALSH
• JOHN WAREHAM
• ALFRED E. WEBB
• CHAS. C. WEBSTER
• STANLEY V. WENZEL
• I. WHITING
• FRED WIFFEN
• H. B. WILCOX
• SAMUEL WILKINSON
• DAVID WILLIAMSON
• BROOKS WILSON
• GEO. WILSON
• ROBERT S. WILSON
• ALLAN V. WRAITH
• ARTHUR H. WRIGHT
• WM. WRIGLEY
• CECIL G. WYATT
• JOHN WYATT
• CHAS. D.H. YOUNG
• JOHN L. YOUNGS JR.

NORTH EASTHOPE

• WM. J. ARMSTRONG
• ELMER DAHMER
• JOHN HOULTON
• ARTHUR JONES
• ROBT. MCGILLAWEE
• EDMUND MCGRADY
• G. EDWARD MCTAVISH
• RICHARD H. SEBBEN
• WM. J. STEWART

ELLICE

• WM. BUUCK
• P. FRANK CROWLEY
• HARRY W. KLEIN
• ALFRED J. KREUTER
• RALPH PFRIMMER
• IVOR C. PLASKETT

DOWNIE & GORE

• ANDREW DUNLOP
• ALBERT J. DUNSMORE
• ROBT. J. DUNSMORE
• JOHN FERGUSON
• HARRY FULLER
• ERNEST HARPER
• ROY JUDD
• HAROLD LAWTON
• JOHN PEARSON
• FRANK PUDDLE
• HARRY PUDDLE
• WILLIAM REID
• HERBERT STUBBINS
• JOHN A. THOMPSON
• WM. F. VANSTONE

WORLD WAR ll

• SIDNEY ACKER
• ROBERT JAMES AGAR
• NORMAN REGINALD ALLEN
• M. J. WILLIAM ASPINALL
• ALBERT EARL ATKINSON
• JACK EDWARD BAILEY
• THOMAS BAILLIE
• RUSSELL GEORGE BAKER
• PHILIP BARCLAY
• C. D. BARNHARDT
• KENNETH STANLEY BECKNER
• JAMES BELL
• MAURICE H. BELL
• WILFRID STEWART BELL
• CHARLES A. BENNER
• DAVID STANLEY BENNER
• WILFRED GEORGE BERGER
• CARL ALFRED BERGMAN
• DONALD BETTS
• JOSEPH A. BIRMINGHAM
• JOSEPH A. BRUGGEMAN
• GEORGE CHARLES BURLING
• FRANK BURSTON
• GLEN BURSTON
• EDWARD BRYANT
• W. H. STANLEY BYERS
• DONALD ALISTAIRE CAMERON

[right back plaque/plaque à l’arrière, à droite]
WORLD WAR II

• ROBERT HARRY CANNON
• ALLAN WILLIAM CAMPBELL
• JOHN M. CARSON
• WILLIAM L. CAYLEY
• GERALD K. CHALMERS
• GORDON J. CHRISTIE
• W. E. CLARK
• ARCHIBALD SIDNEY CLEGG
• CHARLES EWART CONROY
• GEORGE RICHARD CORBY
• DONALD G. J. CORDELL
• GLEN HOWARD CORRIE
• WALTER COUGHLAN
• CHARLES HUBERT COX
• HARRY WALTER DAVIS
• H. D. DAVEY
• EDWARD ARTHUR DEAN
• GEORGE ALBERT DEAN
• VERNON DEERING
• PHILIP DAMON DEMPSEY
• HENRY DENSTEDT
• JAMES LESTER DEWEY
• KENNETH WELLAND DEWEY
• JOHN JOSEPH DIETCH
• JOHN DEMPSEY DOUGLAS
• WILFRED NICHOLAS DOVER
• FRANK DOXEY
• KEITH DULEY
• CLARENCE PERCIVAL EAST
• GERALD B. EDMONDS
• KENNETH FARROW
• JOSEPH PATRICK FLANAGAN
• ROBERT L. E. FLETCHER
• ROY DOUGLAS FORD
• ROSS BERNARD GAGE
• LESLIE D. GARNER
• JAMES GATSCHENE
• HERBERT GEE
• GORDON CLARK GIBB
• LLOYD CHARLES GLASSER
• MAXWELL JAMES FOCH GOOD
• ROBERT BEECH GORSLINE
• JOHN GRAY
• MILTON ERIC GRIFF
• GRANT SANDERSON HALL
• GLENN ROYAL HARRIS
• WALTER H. HARRIS
• ERNEST NILE HESSE
• HAROLD HILDERLEY
• CYRIL HODSON
• CLARENCE B. HOMUTH
• JAMES HURLOCK
• W. DOUGLAS IRWIN
• HERBERT FRANK KANT
• JOSEPH I. KASTNER
• FRANK BURNS KENNEDY
• GORON CARDO KILGOUR
• WILSON KNEGHTEL
• FREDERICK KNOWLES
• GEORGE DOUGLAS LANDERS
• GORDON LOCKE
• ALLAN EDWARD LUTZ
• ROBERT A. MACDOUGALL
• LEONARD A. MACE
• WILLIAM MALTBY
• HAROLD MANTO
• EDWARD MARK
• NICHOLAS MARK
• WILLIAM MARKS
• WILLIAM GEORGE MARTIN
• ALBERT JOHN MCFADDIN
• LLOYD MCKNIGHT
• WILLIAM J. MCMEEKAN
• CHESLEY RALPH MCNUTT
• RALPH THOMAS MILLMAN
• FRANK KENNETH MORLEY
• LEROY FRANCIS MURPHY
• KENNETH JAMES MURRAY
• WESLEY IVAN MUSSELMAN
• BRUCE H. NICKEL
• ROBERT ORTH
• BROCK L. OWEN
• LORNE HENRY PAFF
• ROBERT WHYTE PATTERSON
• ROY FRANK PEARCE
• GREGORY LAWRENCE PIGEON
• JOHN JEROME PIGEON
• LORNE H. PODANN
• JAMES REDFERN
• ALBERT REINHART
• PERCIVAL LEROY RHODES
• RALPH F. RICHARDSON
• JOHN CLARK ROBERTS
• ERNEST DREVER ROBERTSON
• JOHN STONES ROBERTSON
• JOHN B. RUSTON
• DONALD WILLIAM SANGSTER
• FREDERICK FRANCIS SAPWELL
• BRUCE RAYMOND SCOTT
• GEORGE EDWARD SERVENT
• WILLIAM PATRICK SIMPSON
• ALBERT J. J. SINCLAIR
• JAMES GORDON SLOANE
• LORNE G. SMALL
• FREDERICK ARTHUR SMITH
• WILFRID JAMES SMITH
• ALFRED J. STEINACKER
• GORDON STEWART
• GORDON M. STEWART
• WILLIAM RUSSELL STEWART
• CLIFFORD G. STONE
• LIONEL EDWARD SWATRIDGE
• ALVIN MANSFIELD TAYLOR
• LEONARD THORNEYCROFT
• DONALD FRANCIS TREBELL
• RUSSELL P. WAGNER
• GERALD WEBB
• JOHN THOMAS WELSH
• WILLIAM ALFRED WENDLAND
• RAYMOND G. E. WHALE
• BRUCE GEORGE WILBEE
• MORLEY WILBEE
• JOHN ADAIR WOODWARD
• GEORGE YOUNG
• GORDON K. YOUNG
•  

KOREAN WAR

• FRANK ALFRED DIEHL
• GERALD PAYTON
• JOHN O'HARA WRIGHT

[plaque]
THE STRATFORD
WAR MEMORIAL

This magnificent sculpture by Walter S. Allward (1875-1955)
depicts the supremacy of right over brute force and was
unveiled on 6 November 1922 to honour the soldiers from
Stratford and surrounding counties who fell in the First World
War. It was designed in 1921 as Allward prepared the models
for the towering and majestic Canadian monument at Vimy
Ridge in France.

Both sculptures show the same dedication to technique, to
inventive composition, and to the use of classical figures in
dramatic settings.

The upright figure, representing spiritual man, turns his back
on the parting figure of brute force. "They broke the sword
and brought peace to our land" is inscribed on the base.

The sculpture was commissioned by Stratford's War Memorial
Committee (Willilam Preston, Chair) in 1920. Civic leader and
committee member R. Thomas Orr championed the project
and Allward's poignant, powerful vision for it.

Walter S. Allward, long considered on of Canada's greatest
artists, was designated by Canada as a "Person of National
Historic Significance" in 2002.