Canadian Pacific Railway Great War Tablet
Canadian Pacific Railway Great War Tablet
Photo credit: Richard Turcotte
Municipality/Province: Toronto, ON
Memorial number: 35090-037
Type: Plaque
Address: 65 Front Street West
Location: Union Station
GPS coordinates: Lat: 43.6456302 Long: -79.3807748
Submitted by: Richard Turcotte
Photo credit: Richard Turcotte
The Canadian Pacific Railway Great War Tablet in North Toronto Station on Yonge Street was dedicated on April 28, 1922. The tablet was later moved to Union Station.
To honour those who served and gave their lives during the Great War, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) erected a series of bronze memorial tablets in over twenty select locations along their railway system and offices in Canada, United States, England and China. The tablet depicts Britannia, the national personification of Britain, as a helmeted female warrior with a lion to her right and a shield at her feet, HMS Lion (Admiral Beatty's flagship during the Battle of Jutland) with airplanes above and a tank in front, Canadian Pacific Steamship RMS Empress of Russia (used during the war as an armed merchant cruiser and transport ship), Canadian troops, and a CPR locomotive in a nod to all those who travelled by train across Canada before heading overseas. The plaque was designed by Archibald Pearce, Chief Engineer's Department, Montreal, with its model and casting by the Bromsgrove Guild at Worcester, England.
| Original location | Current location |
| CPR Office, Saint John, New Brunswick | McAdam Railway Museum, McAdam, New Brunswick |
| Du Palais CPR Station, Quebec City, Quebec | Du Palais CPR Station, Quebec City, Quebec |
| Viger Station, Montreal, Quebec | Exporail, Montreal, Quebec |
| Windsor Station, Montreal, Quebec | Windsor Station, Montreal, Quebec |
| Angus Shops, Montreal, Quebec | CPKC Archives, Calgary, Alberta (in storage) |
| North Toronto Station, Toronto, Ontario | Union Station, Toronto, Ontario |
| West Toronto Station, Toronto, Ontario | unknown |
| North Bay Station, North Bay, Ontario | North Bay Memorial Park, North Bay, Ontario |
| Fort William Union Station, Fort William, Ontario | Thunder Bay Station, Thunder Bay, Ontario |
| Weston Shops, Winnipeg, Manitoba | Weston Shops, Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| Saskatoon Station, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | Thomas Cook Restaurant, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan |
| Moose Jaw Station, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan | Old Moose Jaw Station, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan |
| Regina Station, Regina, Saskatchewan | Casino Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan |
| Calgary Station, Calgary, Alberta | CPKC Headquarters, Calgary, Alberta |
| Calgary Natural Resources Building, Calgary, Alberta | The Military Museums, Calgary, Alberta |
| Edmonton Station, Edmonton Alberta | CPKC Archives, Calgary, Alberta (in storage) |
| Nelson Station, Nelson, British Columbia | Nelson Museum, Archives & Gallery, Nelson, British Columbia |
| Vancouver Station, Vancouver, British Columbia | unknown |
| Steamship Office, Victoria, British Columbia | Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia |
| CPR Office, New York, New York, United States | Exporail, Montreal, Quebec |
| CPR Office, Liverpool, England | Royal Liver Building, Liverpool, England |
| CPR Building, Charing Cross, London, England | unknown |
| CPR Office, Hong Kong, China | Believed destroyed during the Japanese occupation in the Second World War. |
All tablets were unveiled simultaneously on the same date along with three identical Winged Victory memorials in Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
Inscription found on memorial
THIS TABLET COMMEMORATES THOSE IN THE SERVICE
OF THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY COMPANY WHO
AT THE CALL OF KING AND COUNTRY LEFT ALL THAT
WAS DEAR TO THEM, ENDURED HARDSHIP, FACED DANGER
AND FINALLY PASSED OUT OF SIGHT OF MEN BY THE
PATH OF DUTY AND SELF SACRIFICE. GIVING UP THEIR
OWN LIVES THAT OTHERS MIGHT LIVE IN FREEDOM
LET THOSE WHO COME AFTER SEE TO IT
THAT THEIR NAMES BE NOT FORGOTTEN.
Ypres Festubert The Somme Vimy Hill 70
Passchendaele Amiens Cambrai Drocourt-Queant Mons
Street view
Note
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