Boer War Soldiers Monument
Municipality/Province: London, ON
Memorial number: 35042-033
Type: Shaft, statues
Address: 580 Clarence Street
Location: Victoria Park
GPS coordinates: Lat: 42.9885717 Long: -81.248695
Submitted by: Nancy Braley
Photo credit: Tim Laye, Ontario War Memorials
At Victoria Park on May 29, 1912, the Duke of Connaught unveiled the Soldier’s Monument to honour the dead of the Boer War. In 1902, a local chapter of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire took on the task of raising money.
The monument was sculpted by George W. Hill of Montreal. The bronze statue of a British Empire soldier along with a maiden of peace reaching up to offer him an olive branch of peace, sits on top of the granite stone base. This monument was re-dedicated in 2000, when additional plaques were added to commemorate the Royal Canadian Regiment.
George William Hill was born in Shipton, Eastern Townships, in 1861. He learned to carve marble in his father’s company, after he graduated from college. Between 1889 and 1894, he left Quebec to study sculpting at the École nationale des beaux-arts and Académie Julian in Paris. When he returned to Montreal, he opened a studio and worked with architect Robert Findlay and brothers Edward and William S. Maxwell. Known for his public monuments and war memorials, he is now considered one of the most important Canadian sculptors of the early twentieth century.
Hill designed several monuments commemorating Canadians lost in the South African War, including the Strathcona and South African Soldiers' Memorial in Quebec and Boer War Soldiers Monument in Ontario. At the end of the First World War, Hill was awarded several contracts by towns and cities wishing to pay homage to citizens who had died on the battlefields. Between 1920 and 1930 he designed these monuments: Westmount Cenotaph, Magog Cenotaph, Argenteuil Cenotaph, Richmond Cenotaph, Sherbrooke War Memorial in Quebec; Pictou County War Memorial in Nova Scotia; Soldier's Monument, The Soldier and Nurses’ Memorial in Ontario; and the Soldier's Monument in Prince Edward Island.
Inscription found on memorial
[front/devant]
PRO PATRIA
"IN HONOUR OF THE MEN
FROM THE LONDON DISTRICT,
WHO FOUGHT FOR THE EMPIRE
IN SOUTH AFRICA,
AND IN MEMORY OF THOSE
WHO FELL."
1899 - 1902
This badge is presented to
The Royal Canadian Regiment
by the City of London
1 July 2000
to commemorate the
re-dedication of the
South African War Memorial
Donated by
Imperial Order
Daughters of the Empire
(IODE)
Re-dedicated July 2000
[right side/côté droit]
Pte. D.L. MOORE R.C.R. I
FEB 14th 1900
Pte. J.A. DONEGAN 26th M. Lt. I
FEB 18th 1900
Pte. R. SMITH 26th M. Lt. I
FEB 18th 1900
Pte. W.G. ADAMS 7th Regt. Fus.
APRIL 16th 1900
Pte. F.G.W. FLOYD 7TH Regt. Fus
MAY 10th 1900
Pte. E. MULLINS R.C.R. I
[back/arrière]
PAARDEBERG
DRIEFONTEIN
JOHANNESBURG
DIAMOND HILL
BELFAST
WITTEBERGEN
RELIEF OF MAFEKING
[left side/côté gauche]
ROYAL CANADIAN DRAGOON
ROYAL CANADIAN ARTILLERY
CANADIAN MOUNTED RIFLES
STRATHCONA'S HORSE
ROYAL CANADIAN INFANTRY
CANADIAN FIELD HOSPITAL
Street view
Note
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