Ontario

Lt Sharpe was Canada's first military airman casualty of the First World War.

After almost a year of construction, the Brockville Memorial Civic Centre officially opened February 25, 1951. It was built as a living memorial for all those that died in the First and Second World Wars. The official opening was presided over by the Minister of Veteran’s Affairs. The ground that the Memorial Centre was built on was unstable and in January of 1978, after a snow storm, the roof collapsed.  It was decided to tear down what was left of the building.
 
A new facility was constructed and completed in 1982. The Brockville Roll of Honor was transferred to the present Memorial Centre in 1982.

The memorial outside the Legion Hall honours those in the Canadian Armed Forces who have served Canada in War and Peace. The original plaque on the entry was replaced during the re-dedication of the Royal Canadian Legion Kemptville Branch #212 building on April 29, 2017.

Historically speaking, the Royal Canadian Legion Kemptville Branch #212 was granted a Charter, dated April 17, 1932, under the authority of the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League as it was known at the time. During the early days of membership within this National Veterans Organization, members held their meetings and social events in the Armoury Building and at other public venues in the Town of Kemptville.

As the local membership base increased, the Kemptville Legion members took that opportunity to design, fund and erect their own meeting hall. The Town of Kemptville Municipal Council kindly provided a parcel of land for the proposed structure at the entrance to Riverside Park and the Legion members began sourcing materials and building supplies to commence erecting the building. It is interesting to note that the majority of the lumber and other building materials came from a military "H" hut at a former Army Camp in Brockville, Ontario, which was dismantled piece by piece and transported to the Kemptville Legion site.

Volunteer labour, donations in kind and fundraising were essential in covering the costs to erect the building and work slowly progressed between 1953 and 1956. The official opening of the Legion Building and Hall took place on Saturday, July 6, 1957. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the Kemptville Centennial Celebrations and in honour of the July 6, 1944 Anniversary of D-Day. However, a cornerstone or dedication plaque signifying the importance of that event, or who or what the building was dedicated to, was not laid or attached to the structure at that time.

On Saturday, April 29, 2017, the executive and members held a Dedication Ceremony in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Building and Hall. To mark the occasion, a special Dedication Plaque was affixed to the building in honour of the courageous men and women of the Town of Kemptville, Oxford-on-Rideau and South Gower, who gave up their lives in military service to Canada and the Commonwealth. The plaque was formally unveiled by Sharon Murray, President, Branch #212, Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes and North Grenville Mayor David Gordon. The plaque is located to the left of the main entrance doors.

Source: Courtesy of Roy Brown, author.

This building is dedicated to the memory of Private Blake Neil Williamson. Blake was born in Ottawa on 25 January 1983. He spent most of his childhood in the Kemptville, Ontario area, attending Oxford-on-Rideau Public School, in Oxford Mills, before attending North Grenville District High School in Kemptville. Throughout his upbringing, he expressed an interest in the military and following his graduation from high school, enrolled in the Canadian Forces in 2003.

He undertook his recruit course at St-Jean, Quebec before completing his infantry battle school training in March 2004. He was posted to 1st Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment in Petawawa, where he trained in preparation for his first deployment to Afghanistan in January 2005. Shortly after the battalion’s return to Petawawa in August 2005, Private Williamson prepared for his second tour in Afghanistan that was to begin in August 2006.

On 14 October 2006, while his unit provided security for the construction of the Panjwa'i development road, they were attacked by insurgents. Private Williamson was killed when his vehicle was hit by a rocket propelled grenade.

The Kemptville Armoury was completed in early July 1914, just a few weeks before the start of the First World War. Throughout this conflict, the Armoury served as a military training center for Kemptville and the surrounding area. The Armoury continued its military vocation for many years as well as being used by the nearby high school cadet corps and the Great War Veterans’ Association. By the late 1960s, the Armoury had outlived its military function and the Kemptville Fire Department adapted it to house its equipment and vehicles. The building served as a fire hall until 2009 when the Fire Department moved.

Since then, the building has returned to its military roots and houses naval cadet units. On 11 November 2016 a formal dedication ceremony for the renaming of the armoury building to Private Blake Williamson Memorial Hall was hosted by the Municipality of North Grenville, presided over by members of Williamson's former regiment. A dedication plaque located to the left of the hall entrance on the south east side of the building was unveiled by North Grenville Mayor David Gordon and Major-General Omer Lavoie Commanding Officer of the 1st Canadian Division (Williamson’s former commanding officer).

The M109A4+ Self-Propelled Howitzer Memorial Monument and Gate Guard were made available through the Guns for Monuments Program offered by the Department of National Defence. The decommissioned and demilitarized Howitzer bears the number CFR# 68-34837, and serial number 2487. It was donated to the Municipality of North Grenville and the Veterans Way Memorial Committee by the Department of National Defence, and is dedicated to the memory of those that have  served, and to those that continue to serve, the noble cause of Freedom and Democracy as members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

This Howitzer was part of a fleet of 76 guns that served with the 1st and 3rd Regiments of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, as well as with the 5^e Régiment d'artillerie légère du Canada. The Howitzers were deployed at military bases in Canada and Germany from 1968, until they were declared surplus to the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces and withdrawn from service in 2005. The M109A4+ Self-Propelled Howitzer was placed in the park on July 16, 2015. The storyboard was added on September 27, 2015, during the Veterans Way Park dedication ceremony.

The Lyn & District Heritage Society erected this memorial in 2006, in memory of the veterans and the fallen in the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War. It is a stone wall, containing a carved obelisk and flagpole, with a local mill stone at its crest.

One of the names listed is that of Lt-Col Thain W. MacDowell, who was decorated with the Victoria Cross, for his bravery during the attack on Vimy Ridge.

This bridge is named in honour of Corporal Randy Payne. It was dedicated on June 20, 2014.

Corporal Randy Payne was born in May 1973 at Lahr, Germany, the son of a proud military family. In May 2003, he joined the Canadian Forces and graduated from his Military Police OL3 course shortly thereafter. He was posted to 1 Military Police Unit, CFB/ASU Wainwright Military Police Platoon in March 2004.

In September 2005, Cpl Payne volunteered and was selected to be a member of the Close Protection Team assigned to protect the Regional Command South Commander, Brigadier-General David Fraser, in Afghanistan. Following intensive training, he deployed to Kandahar in February 2006. On 22 April 2006, Corporal Randy Payne was one of four soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in Gumbad, Afghanistan.

The roadway spans approximately one kilometre and links County Road# 44 with a secondary memorial roadway, named Honour Way, to the east. Canadian, British and American Veterans are recognized at this site by way of a bronze plaque set at the base of an individual memorial tree dedicated in their honour. 

The original concept for a 'Living Memorial' came to the forefront when local resident Owen Fitz'Gerald, Past Chairman of the Ferguson Forest Centre Corporation Board of Directors, made a battlefield pilgrimage to Normandy, France. He wanted to try and emotionally experience what his father and thousands like him may have felt on that terrible day in 1944. The many rows of graves and markers in Remembrance of the Fallen inspired him, which resulted in his idea and recommendation for a tree-lined memorial roadway at the Ferguson Forest Centre.

Based on Fitz'Gerald's vision and active participation, the roadway was planned and built, with the kind and generous support of the Corporation of the Municipality of North Grenville, Ferguson Forest Centre Corporation of Directors and Executive and members of the Royal Canadian Legion Kemptville Branch #212. Once completed, the roadway was officially named "Veterans Way", in honour of those that served, and those that continue to serve. On May 25, 2002, special guests representing various civil and military organizations, along with members of the general public, were in attendance at the official opening of Veterans Way. A plaque dedicated to military personnel who served in the First World War was unveiled and the first memorial tree was planted by the Leeds and Grenville Federal and Provincial members of Parliament.

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Newboro Locks, veterans of the 5th Field Company RCE organized the unveiling of a plaque by Lieutenant-General Geoffrey Walsh, CBE, DSO, CD, at these locks on 7 August 1982. connects to 35041-062 35041-071

This cemetery was originally called Military and Civilian Cemetery, then Old Presbyterian Cemetery. In 2017, it was renamed Royal Sappers & Miners Cemetery and is the burial ground for workers that died during the construction of the Rideau Canal at Isthmus (Newboro), including several Sappers and Miners that were stationed at this spot.

Initial work on the canal was undertaken by civilian contractors. A serious outbreak of malaria at the site in August and September of 1828 resulted in a number of deaths, with at least 14 known burials in August alone. With the loss of a significant portion of their workforce, the contractors were unable to continue with their job.  Many labourers were so frightened that they left the site without waiting for their pay.  In addition, the rock was so hard that their black powder blasting could not create a channel.

The decision was made to complete the project with military personnel raising the water level at the Isthmus by constructing a dam at the Narrows.  In 1829, the 7^th Company of the Royal Sappers and Miners were assigned to Isthmus to work with a new labour force.  Barracks were erected for the military personnel, along with supporting infrastructure and accommodations for the remaining civilian workers.

The Isthmus project was completed in 1831. During the three-year construction period, 13 sappers are known to have died, along with an unknown number of non-military personnel. Over time, their specific grave sites have been obliterated, hence the commemorative monument erected for the sappers in 2017.

Following completion of work at the Isthmus, control of the cemetery remained with the British Ordnance Department. Civilian burials continued, some of which were former Royal Sappers, their family members, or those who may have worked elsewhere on the Rideau Waterway.

In 1857, the military relinquished control of the Canal and turned it over to the Province of Canada (formerly Upper and Lower Canada). Local governance of the cemetery was provided by the police from the Village of Newboro and then, after incorporation, the town of Newboro.

As time passed, the cemetery conditions deteriorated as the ownership changed hands between private, church and municipal control. In 1963, the Village of Newboro took ownership of the cemetery and it was classified as abandoned by the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Affairs in 1974.

With municipal amalgamation in 1998, the Townships of North and South Crosby, and the Village of Newboro became Wards in the Township of Rideau Lakes.  Control and ownership of the cemetery passed to the newly formed Township of Rideau Lakes.  Under this jurisdiction, work started on a program to identify and restore the more than thirty abandoned cemeteries in the township, one development of which was the formation of the Royal Sappers and Miners Cemetery Restoration Committee in 2014.

The cemetery was used into the 20th century (last burials were in the 1940s). The name and heritage marker commemorates the Royal Sappers and Miners, however, there were also canal era civilians (men, women and children) who died on-site during the building of the canal and are buried in this cemetery.

The Royal Sappers and Miners Plaque is also located here.