Ontario

Members of the local Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) and Rebekah Lodges brought stones from their farms to build this memorial in the early 1920s, to commemorate the brothers they had lost during the First World War. Most of the labour to build the monument was completed by Lodge members and it was officially unveiled on October 26, 1924, by Dr. Hermiston of Toronto. On each side of the cenotaph are the Three Links of Fraternity: “Friendship, Love and Truth.”

The Parish Hall at Christ Church Anglican, Invermay was completed and dedicated in November 1920 as a memorial to the First World War.

The Grey Monument was unveiled at a ceremony on November 2, 2019, and blessed by Reverend Canon Nick Wells with water brought by guests to the ceremony after they were invited to do so. It recognizes Grey County’s three local military units that served in the First World War: the 31st Regiment and the 147th and 248th Battalions. 

Carved by Sanderson Monuments, the nearly four-meter-tall granite statue of a soldier was based on a photo of local soldier Oliver Alexander. He was born in Hoath Head, Ontario and lived in Owen Sound when first he, and then his brother William Alexander, enlisted at the end of high school. He joined the 147th Grey Battalion, later serving in the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles and 43rd Canadian Infantry Battalion. Oliver was wounded at Passchendaele, when a machine gun bullet fractured his left elbow on October 26, 1917. He returned home to Owen Sound after the war, married Adda Mae Morrow and raised a family. A post office worker before the war, he rose to become postmaster of Hanover. Oliver also served in the Second World War with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

His brother William, who joined the 248th Grey Battalion and then the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles, was struck by shrapnel in his left leg, hip and scalp near Hill 70 in France on December 29, 1917. It was during trench repair duty that he was hurt and he suffered a serious infection. He was discharged on November 7, 2018 and went through most of his life with shrapnel in his hip. William's son Bob Alexander worked as a mechanic with the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during the Korean War and served 30 years with the Grey and Simcoe Foresters.

During the First World War Grey County sent thousands of citizens to the battlefields of Europe to serve King and Country. Many never returned to their homes, and all were forever changed by their experiences. Life in Grey County was never the same. The monument was erected by Grey Roots Museum & Archives with support from Veterans Affairs Canada,  Sanderson Monuments, community partners and public donations.

On August 21, 1921, over 3,300 people gathered in the cemetery to unveil the memorial dedicated to the memory of the area’s 14 men who made the supreme sacrifice in the Great War. 

The soldier monument in Fordwich was unveiled less than a year earlier on Armistice Day 1920. It was meant to be the township’s record of heroism, but 11 names of Wroxeter men were not included. The people of Wroxeter area sought to complete the record by erecting their own monument to the district’s fallen.

Four Owen Sound students at Owen Sound Collegiate and Vocational Institute (OSCVI) and West Hill were commissioned in 2014 to produce a mural depicting the heroism and sacrifice of local veterans on the wall outside the Royal Canadian Legion memorial Branch 6 in Owen Sound. It’s a digital creation project coordinated by the Tom Thomson Art Gallery. The students worked closely with Legion members and veterans on the mural. The project has the support of the New Horizons for Seniors Program.

Clarence Kieffer arranges for the Honour a Hero program collection of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 102 to be displayed in downtown Walkerton storefront window for two weeks before Remembrance Day. The displays honour community members who died in service.

The memorial windows at Christ Church were the inspiration of the Reverend Harold Appleyard, Rector of the Parish during World War 2. Harold Appleyard, on leave from the parish, served as a Military Chaplain during the war years. He noticed shards of broken stained glass around bombed churches including Chichester Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral. He gathered fragments and received permission from local church authorities to have the glass leaded and returned to Christ Church as a memorial for Canadian men and women who served overseas. The fragments were formed into four stained glass windows.

From July 18 to August 9, 1987, the Rector of Christ Church, The Reverend E.J. Insley and his wife Janet travelled through the southern part of England to research the Memorial Windows and provided the pictorial brochure which the Rector left with the churches in England.

The Tobermory Cenotaph was erected in 1920 as a memorial to honour those who fought in the First World War. It consists of three slabs, the center slab being the original memorial.

In 1958, the Legion took on the responsibility of the Tobermory Cenotaph. The two outer slabs were added in 1984 and list the names of those who fought and died in the Second World War and Korean War. The addition was undertaken by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 290 President John Adams and the Monument Committee with a dedication taking place on September 30, 1984.

In 2012, the cenotaph was restored and moved back to prevent weather damage in winter.

County Road 112 (locally known as Range Road or the 9th North) was re-named Valour Road in recognition of the contributions soldiers have made to Canada. The street sign was officially unveiled January 22, 2008. The following is an article from: The Maple Leaf - 5 March 2008 -

Range Road renamed Valour Road - With some help from long-time residents and neighbours to the Training Centre, Grey County officially renamed the road leading to the Land Force Central Area Training Centre (LFCA TC) Meaford as "Valour Road". Residents Sandie and Earl Wilson requested that it be renamed Valour Road to recognize the contributions soldiers have made to Canada. "We just thank all the fellas for the good work they've done for us and their moms and dads who worry about them," said Mr.s Wilson. So along with the Wilson's a group of CF members and civilian employees gathered outside the main gate for the renaming ceremony. "This is a special day for us," said LFCA TC Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel R. E. Kearney. "The support we get from the local areas, of Grey, Bruce and Simcoe counties is unwavering. This is truly Canada and Ontario's training centre right in the heart of this country." Lcol Kearney also went on to say that of the 78 soldiers who have lost their lives in Afghanistan to date, 14 trained or were stationed at TC Meaford. All of their names were read aloud as the crowd bowed their heads. They shopped here, they lived here, they ate at the restaurants, they came into the stores, they went to (Owen Sound) Attack (hockey) games, he said. "They lived here and they loved it here and they will forever honoured by Valour Road. They were people that drove this road everyday." Visitors were then given a tour of the training area to observe soldiers operating from a recently constructed Forward Operating base (FOB). The FOB closely resembles those used by the Canadian soldiers operating in Afghanistan and helps to provide relevant training to the soldiers who learn their infantry skills at the TC, and then move on to the regiments across the country.

This memorial was dedicated on September 14th, 1919, to 22 members of the Knox Presbyterian Church who paid the supreme sacrifice in the First World War. It was erected by members of the Knox Presbyterian Church This church later became the Knox United Church. Rev. P.T. Plikey conducted the memorial service, assisted by Dr. J.B. Fraser. The war veterans to the number of over a hundred paraded to the church for the service. In opening the service Rev. Plikey said that God brought the consummation of the installing of the instrument be used in their services and to remind the congregation of the sacrifices for humanity on the field of battle. The dedication tablet was unveiled by Mrs. James Manson, the oldest member of the congregation. The most impressive part of the service was the unveiling of the tablet to the fallen soldiers. The unveiling was done by Mrs. Mary Munroe another old member of the congregation. In August 2006, The Royal Canadian College of Organists awarded this Casavant organ, opus 794 the historic designation, Citation A level.

Due to declining members the church closed on December 31 2011. The Knox congregation amalgamated on January 1, 2012 with the congregation of Division Street United Church – 997 4th Ave. E. Owen Sound Ontario. Parts of the Knox pipe organ including the console and the 2 plaques associated with the memorial was moved to the new address.