British Columbia

This memorial was dedicated to the memory of the fallen of the First World War and unveiled on 12 July 1925, by Lieutenant-Governor W.C. Nichol. An estimated 3,000 people gathered to witness the unveiling. Among the dignitaries who attended were Victoria Cross recipient Colonel Cy Peck and lawyer Lindley Crease, who had been the chairman of the war memorial committee.

The Victoria War Memorial was built by public subscription from fundraising that started in September 1924. Frederick Bernard Pemberton played a key role in organizing the committee, coming up with a design for the memorial and seeing it built. He enlisted his friend, Lindley Crease, to lead the fundraising drive. The bronze statue was created by sculptors Vernon and Sydney March. 

Later inscriptions were added for the Second World War, Korean War and Afghanistan.

On Feb 12, 2020, Minister MacAulay visited the cenotaph at the George Derby Centre —a long-term care facility in Burnaby, British Columbia specializing in veteran's care. The original George Derby Centre was built over 50 years ago as a rehabilitation centre for young disabled veterans returning from the war with the goal of promoting their return to community living. In May 1988 the present centre opened as a 300 bed licensed intermediate care facility.

The Centre is named in honour of the late Sergeant George Cleveland Derby O.B.E. In 1914, Mr. Derby was employed in Vancouver as a Broker. On September 18, 1915, at the outbreak of World War I, he enlisted as a private in the 72^nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was stationed in England from April to August 1916 and was then sent to France. In November 1916 he suffered a concussion that seriously impaired his hearing. In April 1917, during the preliminary fighting at Vimy, an exploding shell buried him in a trench and left him with a permanently disabled knee. He was invalided to England in May 1917 and returned to Canada that November. As his injuries were permanent, he received his army discharge in January 1918 and left his unit with the rank of Sergeant. In September 1918, George Derby joined the Department of Solders’ Civil Re-establishment, the forerunner of the Department of Veterans Affairs. During World War II, he was District Administrator for the Department in Vancouver. He headed a committee responsible for drafting the Veterans’ Charter, which set forth the provisions for members of the Armed Services returning to Canada and planning to re-enter civilian life. His work on this committee took him to wartime England where he was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1943 for patriotic and philanthropic work. When George Derby returned to Canada, he became Western Regional Administrator in Vancouver for the newly formed Department of Veterans Affairs. In 1946, he negotiated the land acquisition for a new veterans’ hospital, and in that year, the George Derby Centre was named in his honour. He remained with Veterans Affairs Canada in Vancouver until his retirement in 1956. He died in Shaughnessy Hospital at the age of 81 on January 5, 1971.

The cenotaph, which received Community War Memorial funding through the Commemorative Partnership Program, serves to honour Veterans and commemorate those who died in service to our country. Imperial War Graves Commission member Rudyard Kipling recommended the inscription "Lest we forget" which has widely be inscribed on war memorials since the First World War. The phrase "Lest we forget" which forms the refrain of "Recessional" by Rudyard Kipling, is taken from Deuteronomy 6:12: "Then beware lest thou forget the Lord which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt".

The annual Korean War Veterans Ceremony in Burnaby is held at the Ambassador of Peace Korean War Memorial in Central Park for veterans, their families, diplomats, politicians, the RCMP, Burnaby fire fighters, top members of the National Aboriginal Veterans Association, the Richmond Squadron Air Cadets and members of the regional Korean Canadian community. The memorial honours 36 BC soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the Korean War.

These three tennis courts were created as a living memorial to honour the 51 former students of Burnaby South High School who lost their lives in the Second World War. The courts and a cenotaph were dedicated on the school grounds on November 10, 1948, by the South Burnaby Royal Canadian Legion Branch 83 and students of the school.

The Burnaby South High School land was obtained by the city in 1989 and named Burnaby South Memorial Park on November 3, 1993.

This 1.5 acre park was named Burnaby South Memorial Park on November 3, 1993, by the Burnaby Parks, Recreation and Culture Commission's Parks, Names and Signs Committee, at the request of the Burnaby Heritage Advisory Committee (now the Community Heritage Commission.) The land was previously the site of the Burnaby South High School, but obtained by the city in 1989.

Within the park there are Memorial Tennis Courts and a Cenotaph that were dedicated in 1948 to the memory of 51 former students of the older school who died in the Second World War.

On October 2, 2004, the canteen in the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 16 was named in honour of Ernest Alvia “Smokey” Smith V.C. The Legion sign was updated to include a picture of Smoky that his wife, Ester, took of him before they were married.

Legion Branch 16 and the Ernest Alvia “Smokey” Smith V.C. Canteen closed in November 2016.

This cenotaph was erected on the grounds of Burnaby South High School to honour the 51 former students of the school who lost their lives in the Second World War. The cenotaph and Memorial Tennis Courts were dedicated on the school grounds on November 10, 1948, by the South Burnaby Royal Canadian Legion Branch 83 and students of the school.

The Burnaby South High School land was obtained by the city in 1989 and named Burnaby South Memorial Park on November 3, 1993.

This civic cenotaph was erected by the Burnaby Civic Employees Union (now CUPE Local 23) in 1923 to honour their members who lost their lives in the First World War. It was originally located in front of Burnaby's old Municipal Hall on Kingsway near Edmonds, (now the site of Edmonds House & the Burnaby Public Library) until it was moved to the museum in 1974. The monument was designed and built by William Williamson, a stonecutter who operated the Westminster Monumental Works. The use of rough faced local granite and its rustic nature brings this structure within the Arts & Crafts style. It was designated by Burnaby Council in 1992.

Veterans Memorial Manor was officially opened on August 27, 1986, with the Honorable George Hees Minister of Veterans Affairs, Honorable Stewart McInnes Minister of C.M.H.C., Mayor Michael Harcourt, and approximately 200 invited guests. Platform guests included Albert Bianchini – Dominion President Army, Navy & Air Force Veterans; Anthony Stacey – Dominion President Royal Canadian Legion; Fred Winn – Provincial President of the Legion; Warren Matheson – B.Bc. President of Army, Navy & Air Force Veterans and Legion Padre Harry Lennox. The Master of Ceremony was Stewart Kelly – President of the Veterans’ Memorial Housing Society.

The memorial gymnasium was officially dedicated on October 26, 1951. This building was a result of a student alumni campaign to honour men and women of British Colombia who served in the First World War and Second World War. Accommodates about 2,222 people in permanent seating, additional 600 seats in bleachers and another 40 in floor seats.