Ontario

This memorial is dedicated to those who did not return home from the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War. It was erected in 1978 at its present location, having been moved from its original location at the old branch property.

In 1919, the Village of Hensall set out to find a memorial to honour those from the area who died in the First World War. Hensall’s neighbour, Usborne Township, unveiled an impressive soldier monument to its fallen in March 1919 and the Village of Hensall sought a monument of at least equal dignity.

Support for the monument came from the Village of Zurich. The Zurich Herald suggested locating the monument on Grand Trunk Railway land outside of Hensall because it would be neutral property and, therefore, a “union” monument bringing together the two towns and, perhaps, helping to heal old war wounds. The Grand Trunk Railway refused permission to erect the monument on its lands, but the Zurich council donated $1,000 to the Hensall memorial fund.

Through private subscriptions, church collections and individual donors, enough money was raised for the memorial by November 1919. The contract was awarded to Cunningham and Pryde Granite Dealers of Exeter whose soldier statue at Usborne’s Hurondale school had won high praise.

A strike in the factory where the monument’s pedestal was being made delayed the unveiling date. The bandstand in front of the town hall was moved to Acheson’s Hotel to make way for the new monument. In July 1920, the monument’s pedestal was installed in front of the town hall and in early December the soldier statue was installed. The life-sized Hensall soldier statue crowns the pedestal, gripping his rifle in both hands in the at-ease position and wears a typical Canadian uniform from the early part of the war. The Hensall Cenotaph stands nearly 15 feet high with 35 names of Hensall and Hay youth carved onto the granite monument.

On December 22, 1920, the cenotaph was unveiled to a crowd of about 1,500. Hensall Reeve George Petty gave a heartfelt address at the unveiling. He had lost his only son, George, and one daughter, Nursing Sister Gertrude Donaldson, in the Great War. Both their names appear on the cenotaph. Later, additions were made to honour those who lost their lives in the Second World War.

The Hensall statue is often compared to the Usborne soldier statue, which is in a similar pose and wears a similar uniform. However, each statue was carved individually by an Italian sculptor who used a photograph of a Canadian soldier as his model. The differences between the two can be seen in the facial features and web gear. The Hensall soldier also lacks the tree stump representing a life cut short that is found behind the Usborne soldier’s right leg.

In 1945, Ellis Millard (1896-1977), having served in the Canadian Armed Forces as Sergeant Major in the First World War and then as Mayor of Southampton (1945-46), proposed building a hospital as a memorial to the men and women who gave their lives in the Second World War. The hospital was to serve as a memorial for the entire district, including Amabel, Aaran and Saugeen Townships, and the towns of Southampton and Port Elgin.

The Southampton Rotary Club was the first supporter with a pledge of $15,500 in September 1945. The establishment of the facility began with the purchase and repurposing of Hillcrest Lodge, a summer resort with many rooms originally built as the family home of Henry Zinkham, co-owner of the Bowman-Zinkham tanning factory on nearby Fairy Lake. Since the hospital’s official opening on October 16, 1947, with twenty-one adult beds, two children’s beds, and seven infant cubicles, the building has been remodeled and expanded with new additions in 1951, 1958, 1967, 1978, and 2019.  Ellis Millard was elected Chair of the Hospital Board in 1947 and held the position until 1959 when he became Honorary Chair.

This monument commemorates the soldiers of Paisley and surrounding communities who died of the Great War.

This memorial is dedicated to men of the congregation who lost their lives in the First World War. It was erected by the members of the church.

In 1924, twenty-three memorial maple trees were planted along a Southampton avenue. Individual plaques for each tree were intended, but none exist today. Over the years the trees came down with growth and development. Today the cenotaph is located at the end of the very wide street (High Street) where the original trees were planted. The names of who the trees were dedicated to are listed on the left side of the cenotaph.

Erected by Veterans of Royal Canadian Air Force Station Centralia and Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 167 in June 1992, this memorial is dedicated to the men and women who served at Centralia as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization air training system.

This memorial to local veterans of the Second World War was erected by the Village of Brussels and Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 218.

Originally unveiled on 18 October 1928 and dedicated to the local war dead of the First World War, this arch was updated after 1945 to include the local losses of the Second World War.

This memorial is a German field artillery piece, a 77-mm gun, captured by the 10th Canadian Infantry Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, during the Battle of Drocourt-Queant on 2 August 1918. It was given to the town of Wingham as part of the post-First World War trophy redistribution program.