New Brunswick Provincial Cenotaph

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New Brunswick Provincial Cenotaph

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front plaque

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right side

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right side plaques

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back

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back plaque

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left side

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left side plaque

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New Brunswick Provincial Cenotaph plaque

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cross and sarcophagus

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sarcophagus

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Municipality/Province: Fredericton, NB

Memorial number: 13004-016

Type: Obelisk - granite

Address: Queen, Church and King Street

GPS coordinates: Lat: 45.9584517 Long: -66.6345864

Submitted by: William H. Gillen; Diane Urquhart; Lawrence Welling; Stephen Moore; Brian Cochrane

Very shortly after the end of The First World War, a group of public-spirited citizens decided that some form of lasting memorial should be erected in Fredericton to honour those members of the community who laid down their lives for their country during the conflict. A committee was formed, called the Fredericton War Memorial Committee, under the chairmanship of Mr. Justice O. Crocket of the Supreme Court of Canada, formerly Member of Parliament for York-Sunbury, to study the matter and to transform the thought into action. A tall shaft of stone, suitably based and landscaped, was decided upon as being appropriate, and the site favoured was the triangular plot of land bounded by Church, King and Queen Streets. This land, the property of the Cathedral, was assigned to the Committee by the Rt. Rev. John H. Richardson, Bishop of Fredericton, on behalf of the Cathedral, for use as the memorial site. Plans submitted by a Quebec firm were selected and the necessary funds were raised by public subscription. The site was surveyed by Mr. Andrew MacVey, Chief Bridge Engineer of the Provincial Department of Public Works, who had been approached by the Committee for consultation and advice on positioning and erecting the memorial. As specifications and plans did not convey a realistic picture to the Committee, Mr. MacVey constructed a cardboard model of the memorial so that, when opinions within the committee differed as to which way the memorial should face - up river, down river, toward the Cathedral or whatever - he was able to demonstrate with his model just how it would appear from any particular direction. Mr. MacVey also designed the layout of the lettering. The erection of the Cenotaph of Quebec stone was proceeded with at a cost of approximately $20,000 - a sizable sum of money in those days. It was dedicated on November 11, 1923, in a ceremony in which Frederictonians paid fitting tribute to their townsmen who had made the supreme sacrifice, and during which were called out the names of each of the one hundred and nine "Men of Fredericton Who Laid Down Their Lives in the Great War and Whose Names are Here Gratefully recorded by Their Fellow Citizens." In later years, the Cenotaph was floodlighted and bronze plaques were added commemorating those who fell in The Second World War and the Korean War. A beautiful memorial, it is an honour and a credit to those citizens of bygone days who regarded it as a solemn duty to perpetuate the memory and the deeds and sacrifices of the fallen. With its classic dignity and fine surroundings, it evokes a poignancy which is ever present but which seems almost physical and bayonet sharp on Remembrance Day when the haunting notes of Last Post, the supreme trumpet call, the saluting guns reverberate across the river to fade among distant elms into a silence that suddenly seems even deeper than before." At the going down of the sun, and in the morning We will remember them." Momentarily, there is a unity of resolve, a tightening of flesh, an ineffable loneliness as the ringing words rekindle a host of memories among the hushed assembly. In the first few years following The First World War the Armistice Day (later designated as Remembrance Day) ceremonies in Fredericton were organized by The Imperial Order, Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E.)(Sir Howard Douglas Chapter) but, since 1928, Fredericton Branch of the Canadian Legion has always made the arrangements. The standard bearers of the various I.O.D.E. Chapters have continued to attend as a body. The following were members of the Fredericton War memorial Committee which raised the monument: Hon. Mr. Justice Crocket, Chairman; The Countess of Ashburnham; Lt. Col. T.G. Loggie; His Lordship Bishop Richardson; His Worship, Mayor J.A. Reid; Lt. Col. C.J. Mersereau; Alderman George H. Clarke; Hon. Mr. Justice Barry; R. FitzRandolph, Esq.; R.B. Hanson, K.C., M.P.; G.N.C. Hawkins, Esq.; U.New Brunswick Chancellor C.C. Jones, LLD; Mrs. N. Dougherty; C.A. MacVey, Esq.; J. Stewart Neill, Esq.; Alderman J.A. Cain; Alderman F.L. Cooper; Alderman Harry A. Smith; J.J.F. Winslow, K.C.; W.D. Gunter, Esq.; John T. Jennings, Esq.; E. Allison MacKay -Secretary. In recent years, a plaque commemorating Merchant Seamen was added. A History of the Fredericton Legion}

Inscription found on memorial

[front/devant]

1915
ST. ELOI
YPRES
GRAVENSTAFEL
LANGEMARCK
ST. JULIEN
STONY MOUNTAIN
FESTUBERT
GIVENCHY

SECOND WORLD WAR
1939 - 1945
WITH PROUD THANKSGIVING
WE REMEMBER THOSE WHO DIED
IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY

SEE THAT YOU HOLD FAST THE HERITAGE
THAT WE LEAVE YOU.. YEA, AND TEACH YOUR
CHILDREN ITS VALUE, THAT NEVER IN THE
COMING CENTURIES THEIR HEARTS MAY
FAIL THEM, NOR THEIR HANDS GROW WEAK

(plaque)
NEW BRUNSWICK
PROVINICAL CENOTAPH

FOR THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES
IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY

LEST WE FORGET

LE CÉNOTAPH PROVINCIAL
NOUVEAU-BRUNSWICK

POUR CEUX ET CELLES QUI ONT DONNÉ
LEUR VIE AU SERVICE DE LEUR PAYS

N'OUBLIONS JAMAIS

[right side/côté droit]

1918
AMIENS
ARRAS
DROCOURT QUEANT
CANAL DU NORD
BOURLON WOOD
CAMBRAI
VALENCIENNES
MONS

CANADIAN MERCHANT NAVY
MARINE MARCHANDE CANADIENNE
1914-18 1939-45 1 950-53

CANADA
MN

THE
LIFE LINE
OF THE
WORLD

POUR LA
SERVIE
DU MONDE
LIBRE

RCMP
GRC

Peacekeepers
Gardiens de la Paix

NATO
OTAN

We need action not only to end the fighting, but to make peace
in the service of peace - Lester B Pearson - 2 November 1956

Il ne faut pas seulement arrêter les combats, nous devons faire la paix
Au service de la paix - Lester B Pearson - le 2 novembre 1956

[back/arrière]

1917
VIMY
LENS
ARLEUX
FRESNOY
HILL 70
BELLEVUE SPUR
PASSCHENDAELE
MASNIERES

1914 1918
IN HONOURED MEMORY OF THE
MEN OF FREDERICTON WHO LAID
DOWN THEIR LIVES IN THE GREAT WAR
AND WHOSE NAMES
ARE HERE GRATEFULLY RECORDED
BY THEIR FELLOW-CITIZENS

"HE DIED THE NOBLEST DEATH A MAN CAN DIE
FIGHTING FOR GOD AND RIGHT AND LIBERTY
AND SUCH A DEATH IS IMMORTALITY"

[left side/côté gauche]

1916
SANCTUARY WOOD
HILL 62
THE SOMME
COURCELETTE
MOUQUET FARM
ZOLLERN REDBOUT
REGINA TRENCH
DESIRE TRENCH

KOREA
1950 - 1953
WITH GRATITUDE AND PRIDE
WE REMEMBER THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES
IN THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM
AND THEIR SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY
JAMES ELDON HUGHES
IRVINE LEVIE RICE
DE VERNE ELLSMORE WRIGHT

HOLD FAST OUR FAITH AND IDEALS
THAT YOUR CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN
SHALL KNOW AND VALUE
FREEDOM, HOME AND COUNTRY

Street view

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This information is provided by contributors and Veterans Affairs Canada makes it available as a service to the public. Veterans Affairs Canada is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or reliability of the information.

Date modified:: 2023-08-23