Maple Ridge Cenotaph

By June 1919, plans were underway by the Maple Ridge Returned Soldiers Reception Committee to create a memorial tablet and monument. A bronze memorial tablet created by O.B. Allan Jewellers was unveiled at the Haney fall fair in September 1919. It listed the names of those who had paid the supreme sacrifice, those who had gone overseas and those who had worked in munitions. 

In February 1923, Mr. Lilley of the Returned Soldiers Committee explained it did not seem proper that this tablet with the names of the living as well as those of the dead should be placed together in a memorial monument for those who had died in the war. The committee proposed a war monument in the form of a Celtic cross with the names of soldiers who had died in the First World War and suggested that the monument be installed in the cemetery.

The cenotaph was unveiled by Bishop de Pencier on 31 May 1923, at the entrance to the Maple Ridge Cemetery with almost 1,000 citizens in attendance. It was designed by Captain Thornton Sharp and created by Art Monument C. of Vancouver. Nelson Island provided the light grey granite for the memorial and funds were raised by the Haney Women's Institute. Because the weight of the memorial caused it to tilt and crack, the base was replaced in July of 1939. It was moved to Memorial Peace Park on June 2, 1953, for the celebrations around the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.

A distinctive feature of the cenotaph are the rocks inscribed with names of the famous battles of the First World War. Originally there were four rocks: Ypres, Somme, Argonne and Amiens. Argonne (a battle won by the Americans) was replaced around 1936 with Vimy Ridge, and two other rocks were added in November 1966: France, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, and Korea. The rocks can be found in the gardens around the cenotaph.

In 2000, as part of the Legion’s Millennium project 27 names were added to the north and south sides of cenotaph. The research was done by Jeff Davis. In 2001, the cenotaph moved to its current location at Memorial Peace Park, not far from where it was placed in 1953.

Maple Ridge had a population of under 3,000 when war was declared on 4 August 1914. Initially, recruits had to be men between the age of 18 and 45, but both underage and overage men lied about their age. Many of the men were brothers, cousins, former classmates, and local athletes. The Port Haney Basketball Club had to disband as they had sent practically every eligible player to the firing line. From Maple Ridge, over 200 men joined the military forces, two women joined as nurses, two women and one returned soldier were employed as munition workers and six men volunteered for home defenses. Of those, about 36 were killed or died as a result of the war. Research shows that some of the service men listed on the cenotaph did not reside in Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows prior to enlistment, but had relatives who were residents after the war.

[front/devant]

C.P. BLAKE
L. BUCHANAN
J. CAMPBELL
H. CARTER
R. CROMARTY
H. DAVIE
W.M. DAVIN
G. DICKINSON
R. FLETCHER
H.G. FRASER
L.H. FREER
R.G. COFFIN
L. GRIFFIN
A.N. HACKNEY
E. HALL
J.H. HAMPTON
R.H. HARRIS
F. HART
E. HOWE
A. KENDRICK
T.H. LAITY
W. MACKREATH
E.A. MCVEETY
F. MCWHINNIE
T.G. NEWITT
W. NICHOLL
J. OXHAM
S. PARKER
P. PATERSON
J.A. POPE
C.E. POWERS
N. SOMERVILLE
A. SORENSON
B. THOMPSON
W.G. WHALLEY
T.C. WILSON
A.F. GOFFIN
E. BUST

J.W. SAYERS

1914 - 1918

THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE

[right side/côté gauche]

WWI

J. BECKETT
H. BLOIS
R. EATON
J. FINNIE
B. HERTSLET
T. LITTLE
J. MCKENZIE
J. MCPHERSON
W. REID
R.F.C. THOMPSON

IN THE SERVCIE OF PEACE 

[back/arrière]

S.O. ADAMS
M.C. BOND
J. DOUGLAS
G. FAIRWEATHER
A. FOSTER
P. GATEY
E.J. HARRIS
R. HIGGINS
L. JACKSON
R. KREFTING
R.L. MAGEE
G. K. MCKEE
J.R. MARTYN
S.W. MORRIS
P.J. MOYER
R. MCLEOD
M.J. NEILL
J. PASTOREK
T.G.F. ROCK
D.W. SMITH
E.E. STEEN
S.J.N. THIRSK
J.R. THOMSON
W. VANDEVEN
W. WHITE
K.R. WILLIAMS
R.F. WILLIAMS

W.J. JARVIS

MAPLE RIDGE

1939 - 1945

THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE

[left side/côté droit]

WWII

G. BING
V. FERNQUIST
R. FISHER
J. HAY
A. JONES
L. LAMBRIGHT
R. LASSER
H. LYONS
H. MCTAVISH
F. MURRAY
B. NORMAN
S. R. ROSS
H. ROBINSON
S. SANTY
L. SCUTT
R. SHARPE
R. STEELE
E. TAYLOR

J. WILSON