Ontario

Veterans Memorial, including the site plan and landscaping, was designed by Toronto artist, Kari Myllymaki. He also coordinated the fabrication and construction. It was dedicated by district Legion Padre Alfred Woolcock on September 20, 1986.

The three sided pyramid is actually a tetrahedron, made of polished pink Laurentian granite weighing 16,000 pounds. It rests atop a base of rough hewn granite. Rising out of the rockery, eliciting images of struggle, toil and despair, evolves a pure shining form symbolizing hope, goodness, peace and rest.

In September 2019, Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General renamed the Durham County Courthouse, the Lieutenaant-Colonel Samuel S. Sharpe, DSO, MP, Courthouse.

Samuel Simpson Sharpe was born in Zephyr, ON in March 1873. Completing his studies in Uxbridge, ON, he went on to study at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall, graduating in 1895. He practiced law in Uxbridge and was elected as the Member of Parliament for Ontario North in the 1908 federal election. He was re-elected in 1911 and was considered for the position of Minister of Militia and Defence. He was once again re-elected in the 1917 elections, while commanding the 116^th Battalion in France.

From an early age, Sharpe displayed interest in military life, joining the 34^th Ontario Regiment at the age of 16 and rising to the rank of major. Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, he was asked to raise a battalion from Ontario County, leading to the creation of the 116^th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. Under Sharpe`s command, the Battalion arrived in England in the summer of 1916 and was deployed to the trenches of France in February 1917. The Battalion fought at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917, the attack on Avion in preparation for the Battle of Hill 70 and the Battle of Passchendaele. In early 1918, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).

The heavy combat and the deaths of many of the young men he had recruited, placed enormous stress on his health. A few months after receiving the DSO, he was hospitalized in England for general debility and in May 1918, was repatriated to Canada where he was hospitalized for nervous shock, at Montreal`s Royal Victoria Hospital. On 25 May 1918, Sharpe jumped from a hospital window, to his death. He was laid to rest in Uxbridge.

It’s estimated the memorial was first placed in the cemetery sometime in the 1920s or 1930s. It sits adjacent to the gravestone for Edward O’Hare, an Oshawa resident who died in 1963. He served in the First World War with the Canadian Railway Troops. There are at least 19 First World War Veterans buried in the cemetery.

Lost and forgotten for several decades, it was rediscovered in June 2013 by Branch 637 Chaplain Don Edwards and wife Janice, following a Decoration Day Ceremony. The top part of the memorial's marble Celtic cross has been broken off and fused back on. It’s been vandalized, damaged, the concrete base was cracked and it’s foundation had shifted. 

Oshawa’s two Royal Canadian Legions, Branches 43 and 637, worked together to restore the war memorial and eventually we were able to enlist the generous help of the Archdiocese of Toronto through Glorianne Hopper. The archdiocese provided the contractor who repaired and cleaned the monument and put a foundation under it.

It was rededicated November 10, 2018, by members of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43 and 637 marking the end of 100th anniversary of the end First World War.

This armoury, Colonel R. S. McLaughlin Armoury, is named in honour of Colonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin, CC, ED, CD. The armoury was built in 1914 by the Department of National Defence.

Colonel Robert Samuel McLaughlin, CC, ED, CD (September 1871 – January 1972) was an influential Canadian businessman, philanthropist and the longest serving Honorary Colonel of the Ontario Regiment (RCAC). He started the McLaughlin Motor Car Company in 1907, one of the first major automobile manufacturers in Canada, which evolved into General Motors of Canada. In 1921, McLaughlin was appointed Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the 34^th Ontario Regiment (renamed the Ontario Regiment (RCAC) in 1958) and held this position until 1931, at which time he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the same unit. Affectionately known as “Colonel Sam,” McLaughlin served as Honorary Colonel until 1967, earning the distinction as the longest continuously serving Colonel in the history of the Canadian Forces. In 1967, Sam McLaughlin was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada.

Needs further research.

This street is named in honour of Private Jacques Alexander Wallig (Army), a member of 42nd Bn Canadian Infantry (Quebec Regiment), who died September 26, 1916. Researched by Nicole Patterson, Oshawa Public Libraries, 2008 Pte Jack A. Wallig, formerly of the 42nd Montreal Highlanders, who was wounded on September 23, died in the base hospital 3 days later. Pte Wallig, who was 25 years of age, came to Toronto from Holland five years ago. After a year in the city, he moved to Oshawa, where he was employed in the Fittings Ltd. In January 1915, he enlisted at Oshawa with the 37th Battalion and after reaching England, was transferred to the Montreal Unit. Before the war, his brothers were jewellers in Brussels. From the Toronto Star 15 Nov 1916

This street is named in honour of Private Earle Trevail (Army), a member of the 15th Bn Canadian Infantry (Central Ontario Regiment), who died September 26, 1916. Memorial: Vimy Memorial, Pas de Calais, France

This street is named in honour of Pilot Officer Warren Raymond Taggart (RCAF), who died May 24, 1943. Memorial: Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, United Kingdom Researched by Nicole Patterson, Oshawa Public Libraries, 2008: Having seen action with the RCAF in various theatres of war, he was reported missing in June 1942 following air operations in Gibraltar, but was later reported safe, after being interned in Spain. He later made his way to England. Nearly a year later, on June 3, 1943, he was again reported missing. When his mother received this message, she first expected it to be an announcement of his arrival in Canada, as he was due to have a furlough after 18 months of arduous flying. In his last letters, sent in April and postcards sent from England in May, he spoke of seeing his mother and sister, Jean, very soon. Raymond Taggart was born in Midland in 1916 and came to Oshawa with his parents in 1944. He was a graduate in Technical Studies at O.C.V.I. and was employed as a metal finisher at General Motors. He was a member of the local Sea Cadets. Before the war broke out, he already had obtained his flying license and was thoroughly equipped for the job when he joined the RCAF in 1940 at Toronto. He received his training in Western Canada, getting his wings in Carberry, Manitoba. He then spent three months in Charlottetown, PEI, receiving special training before being sent overseas in November 1941.

This street is named in honour of Corporal Gordon Ernest Stire (Army), a member of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, R.C.I.C., who died January 31, 1944. Burial: Moro River Canadian War Cemetery, Italy

This street is named in honour of Trooper Morley Russell Spencely (Army), a member of the Ontario Regiment R.C.A.C., 11th Armoured Regiment, who died December 16, 1943.