Ontario

There is no information on when this Second World War Honour Roll was unveiled at Wesley United Church. Originally built as a Presbyterian Church, this congregation became a United Church in the 1920’s amalgamation of Methodist and Presbyterian Churches.

There is no information on when this First World War Honour Roll was unveiled at Wesley Methodist Church. Originally built as a Presbyterian Church, this congregation became a United Church in the 1920’s amalgamation of Methodist and Presbyterian Churches.

There is no information on when this Second World War Honour Roll was unveiled at Granton United Church. Originally built as a Presbyterian Church, this congregation became a United Church in the 1920’s amalgamation of Methodist and Presbyterian Churches.

There is no information on when this First World War Honour Roll was unveiled at Granton Methodist Church. Originally built as a Presbyterian Church, this congregation became a United Church in the 1920’s amalgamation of Methodist and Presbyterian Churches.

This tree was dedicated by Sid Daley on November 11, 2007, in honour of all those who served Canada in war and peace.

Veterans Drive was dedicated on September 26, 2005. To commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War and in appreciation and celebration of the Year of the Veteran, City Council passed a motion changing the name of Lakeside Drive between Erie Street and Waterloo Street to Veterans Drive.

Wooton Court was named for Colonel F.E. Wootton who was stationed in Stratford for a short time during the Second World War as Commander of the Railway Operating Group at Perth Barracks. Wooton Court is a reminder of the important role played by Stratford as a training centre during the Second World War.

The Plevna Cenotaph was unveiled August 22, 2015 and represents the Township of North Frontenac. The dedication ceremony was conducted by the president of the Northbrook Legion, Branch 328, Mike Powley Jr., aided by Padre Harry Adringa.

It was designed by Councilor Gerry Martin and constructed with the help of Derek Maschke, local volunteers and the Northbrook Legion Branch 328.  The design includes elements going as far back as the Boer War, with a focus on the two World Wars and the Korean War.

Not many people know there was a training ground in North Frontenac during the First World War. One winter a local regiment trained in Plevna and went overseas after that.

Mayor, Bud Clayton presided over the council that funded and planned the construction of the cenotaph. The project was spearheaded by Councilor Gerry Martin with a committee made up of Eileen Fleiler, Cor Bakelaar, Bob Kenny, Wayne Good and Gerry Martin, and the grant writing efforts of township staffer Cory Klatt. Council committed $30,000  and the rest was funded by Federal Gas Tax and Frontenac County.

This plaque, affixed to a bench, is dedicated to the members of the Perth Regiment who served during the Second World War.

The 1st Battalion, The Perth Regiment, was mobilized 1 September 1939 for service in the Second World War. The 1st Battalion embarked for Great Britain on 9 October 1941 and trained in England before transfering to the Italian campaign on 8 November 1943, as part of the 11th Infantry Brigade, 5th Canadian Division. The 1st Battalion was transferred to the 1st Canadian Corps in North-West Europe in March 1945, where it fought until the end of the war. It returned to Canada at the end of hostilities and was disbanded on January 31, 1946.

The 2nd (Reserve) Battalion, headquartered in Stratford, was authorized in 1940 and trained recruits for the 1st Battalion.

The Regiment was awarded the following Battle Honours for service during the Second World War: Italy 1944-45, Liri Valley, Gothic Line, Coriano, Lamone Crossing, Fosso Munio, Conventello-Comacchio, North-West Europe 1945, Ijsselmeer, Delfzijl Pocket.

The sculpture of a pair of hands holding a dove, which is symbolic of Canada’s support to the Netherlands, marks the Canadian soldiers' successful efforts to end Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.  The sculpture memorial was a gift from the Netherlands after WWII, as a token of appreciation for Stratford’s hospitality to seven hundred free men of Dutch birth who came to Stratford to form a battalion. After the occupation of Holland by Nazi armies, Canada invited free men of the world to use Stratford for a military training base. Queen Juliana of the Netherlands came four times to see them. Their Caserne or barracks was a former furniture factory on Trinity Street. For this reason and that of the participation of the Perth Regiment in the liberation of Holland in 1945, there is a close bond between our countries. 

The Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Garden was erected in 2015 by Stratford and District Horticultural Society, which partnered with Communities in Bloom (CIB). Horticultural Society volunteers planted an interlaced pattern of red and white tulip bulbs in the garden beds leading to the Memorial. The blooms will offer a visual reminder next spring of the link between the two countries.

Stratford was one of the 140 communities selected from the more than 400 applications received by the Canadian Garden Council. Each of the 140 new 70th Anniversary Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Gardens across the country will consist of 700 red and white tulip bulbs (350 of each colour) donated by Vesey’s Bulbs in Prince Edward Island.

The memorial is dedicated as a living monument in recognition of the 70th Anniversary of the original Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Garden planted in Ottawa at the end of World War II in 1945. The memorial is in appreciation of the safe haven that members of Holland’s exiled royal family received during World War II, and in recognition of the role Canadian troops played in the liberation of the Netherlands.