North Bay Cenotaph

Some 2,400 local folk served in the Great War and an actual physical war memorial was originally proposed for Terrace Lawn Cemetery. However in June 1922, the Normal School park was chosen as the site. The Agriculture and Parks Committee of Council, with input from local school children and well-known sculptor Harold French (who helped plan the Vimy Memorial), came up with the design for the memorial. To raise the better than $15,000 cost, a public subscription was organized helped by grants from the town council. The Ladies Auxiliary of the Great War Veteran's Association staged a house-to-house canvass and a Soldiers Memorial Committee was formed, which was able to profit from circus license fees, other charges and fines from the town.

The 2,000 pounds monument was crafted by Canadian sculptor C.D. McKenzie of Toronto. The largest monument cast in bronze in Canada at the time, it measures 26'6" from base to statue top with the statue of a Canadian soldier with bared bowed head, measuring 8'6" in height, standing on some 60 tons of granite. The soldier is everyman, the universal soldier with no rank or unit identification; his right hand holds a laurel wreath and rests on a cemetery marker and his left holds his helmet over his heart. The base holds a North Bay dedication and is engraved with the names of important First World War battles. The contractors were Andrew Craig of North Bay and McIntosh Granite of Toronto.

September 17, 1922, saw the official unveiling of the monument in a well-attended ceremony, which involved Provincial Lieutenant-Governor Henry Cockshutt, North Bay Mayor John Ferguson, other local dignitaries, a Guard of Honour, a band, various military officers and other ranks as well as cadets, scouts and club representatives. 

The bronze statue is 8' 6" high and the entire memorial is 26' 6" tall.  Before the memorial was erected, the park was donated by the local school and trees were planted, dedicated to the dead from the Great War. The statue was first used for Armistice Day ceremonies in 1922. The memorial was designed by C.D. McKenzie and constructed by Andrew Craig of North Bay and the McIntosh Granite Company of Toronto.

The North Bay Cenotaph was subsequently dedicated to those who served, and died in action, during Second World War and the Korean War.

The North Bay Memorial Wall and the North Bay Vimy Ridge Memorial Wall are also located in Memorial Park.

[front/devant]
IN HONOURED
MEMORY
OF THE MEN OF
NORTH BAY
WHO SERVED
FOUGHT AND DIED
FOR FREEDOM
AND HUMANITY
IN THE
GREAT WAR

1914     +     1919

CAMBRAI     LENS
BOURLON WOOD
BEAUMETZ     GIVENCHY

THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE

[right side/côté droit]    
HONOUR ROLL
REGINALD ADSHEAD
JOHN ANGUS     ROBERT ASHTON
JOHN BARNHART
JOSEPH BARTHOLOMEW
JOHN CLIFTON BLANCHET
LLOYD BOAL     W.E. BRYANT
THOMAS JOHN BRENNAN
MARTIN BRENNAN
EDGAR BURRITT
A. MACD CAMPBELL
THOMAS ED CAMPBELL
HAROLD WATSON CAVANAUGH
FRED CHIDLEY     WILFRID COOKE
GEORGE CONNELLY
ARTHUR DAVIES DEACON
REGINALD DELANEY
A. DOUGHTY     ARTHUR DOXSEE
ED DUBROY     FRED J. DUDLEY
WILBERT LEONARD DURRELL
STEWART DURRELL
LAURENT DUPUIS
SIDNEY GEORGE ELMS
WILBERT FERGUSON
RANDALL FORDER

1914     +     1919

ST. ELOI     LA SOMME
PASSCHENDAELE
ST. JULIEN     ST. QUENTIN

[back/arrière]
HONOUR ROLL
THOS. GALLAWAY     JAMES GASPE
PETER GAUDETTE
MORTON GERRIE     MAT GREEN
JOHN B. GILCHRIST
BERNARD HARVEY     ROY HENLEY
JOHN HERESEY
ALBERT HILL     AMEDEE HOULE
CHARLES ADELBERT HOLBROOK
EDGAR HOULDSWORTH
JAMES HUME     ROSWELL JESSUP
LEONARD KIDD     COLIN C. KING
JOHN LARONDE     DAN LARRIVEE
HAROLD LONGMIRE
THOMAS E. MARTIN
JOHN A. MARTIN     EDGAR MARTYN
JOHNSON Y. MATCHETT
HARRY F. MIDDLETON
DUNCAN JAMES MacLEOD
MELVILLE MacLEOD
CLARK McCANN
MALCOLM ARTHUR McDONALD
Wm. McDONALD     HUGH McDONALD
MALCOLM McDONALD
OSCAR McDONALD

1914     +     1919

VIMY     COURCELETTE
SANCTUARY WOOD
FESTUBERT     HOOGE

THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE

[left side/côté gauche]
HONOUR ROLL
RODERICK McDONNELL
ALEX L. McKENZIE     DAN McNULTY
JOHN Wm. NEW     JOHN NOLAN
FRED NORMANDEAU
HERBERT C.J. OSBORNE
GEO. PENNELL     GUY S. PUNCHER
VERGIL R. PHELPS     DONALD ROSS
FRANK RIGBY     ALBERT F. SALMON
NOBLE SCULLAND
ARTHUR SEGUIN     JOS. ST. ARNAUD
EDWIN CHARLES SHEPHERD
ALBERT SMITH     THOMAS SMITH
ALEX C. SOUTER     FRED STANLEY
Wm. STEPHEN     FRANK STREETER
DELBERT STREETER
ARTHUR ISAAC TANDY
LOUIS D. THERIEN
H.S. TAYLOR TILLEY
LYALL TORRANCE     CYRIL VIDAL
LESLIE M. VALIN     HOMER G. VARIN
ROBERT F. WALLACE
IRVINE L. WALLACE
GEO. WOODWARD     ALBERT WRIGHT
WILLIAM SPENCE FRASER

1914     +     1919

MONS     YPRES
ARMENTIERES
ARRAS      AMIENS

[plaque]
MEMORIAL PARK
CENOTAPH STATUE

NORTH BAY HERITAGE SITE

The city block bounded by Fraser, First, Ferguson, and Second became the site of the North Bay Normal School, which opened in 1909 and still stands at the corner of First & Fraser. In 1917, the province deeded the remainder of the tract for use as a Memorial Park to commemorate those who gave their lives in WWI.

Almost 2400 local folk served in the "Great War" and an actual physical "war memorial" was originally proposed for Terrace Lawn Cemetery. However in June 1922, the Normal School park was chosen as the site. The Agriculture and Parks Committee of Council, with input from local school children and well-known sculptor Harold French (who helped plan the Vimy Memorial), came up with the design for the actual physical memorial. In order to raise the better than $15,000 cost, a public subscription was organized helped by grants from the town council. The Ladies Auxiliary of the Great War Veteran's Association staged a house-to-house canvass and a Soldiers Memorial Committee was formed, which was able to profit from circus license fees, other charges and fines from the town.

The 2000-pound monument itself was crafted by Canadian sculptor C.D. McKenzie of Toronto. The largest monument cast in bronze in Canada at the time, it measures 26'6" from base to statue top with the statue of a Canadian soldier with bared bowed head, measuring 8'6" in height, standing on some 60 tonnes of granite. The soldier is everyman, the universal soldier with no rank or unit identification; his right hand holds a laurel wreath and rests on a cemetery marker and his left holds his helmet over his heart. The base holds a North Bay dedication and is engraved with the names of important WWI battles. The contractors were Andrew Craig of North Bay and McIntosh Granite of Toronto.

September 17th 1922 saw the official unveiling of the monument in a well-attended ceremony, which involved Provincial Lieutenant-Governor Henry Cockshutt, North Bay Mayor John Ferguson, other local dignitaries, a Guard of Honour, a band, various military officers and other ranks as well as cadets, scouts and club representatives. November of that same year, the first official Armistice Day ceremony took place at the cenotaph. In 1923, through a series of agreements between the municipal and provincial governments, Memorial Park was created and officially named at the November ceremony of that year, which drew an overflow response of some 4,000 citizens including some 100 veterans and the Salvation Army Band.

In 1925, North Bay officially became a city and a mammoth Old Home Week festival took place, which saw Memorial Park the scene of many celebrations and gatherings.

Branch 23 of the Royal Canadian Legion was granted its official charter in 1926 and had it offices on First Avenue, opposite the Normal School. In 1987, a new Legion Hall was opened right beside the Normal School, only a few yards from the cenotaph itself.

In 1975, the Legion installed an Honour Wall for veterans of the two World Wars, designed by former soldier and City Recreation Director Sam Jacks.

In the mid 1990's, a group of war veterans formed an organization called Project Flanders to commemorate all who served their country. Project Flanders would raise over $700,000 to construct the Wall of Honour. Made up of 14 seven-foot high granite walls, each weighing up to 6 tons apiece, the Wall of Honour recognizes each of the seven wars and UN/NATO Missions of the 20th century, including World Wars One and Two, as well as the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

The bilingual Wall contains the names of 636 war dead of the 8850 area personnel who served in the Canadian Forces. At the rear of the 95 foot wide wall are over 700 commemorative stones recognizing veterans who survived the wars.