Canadian Battlefields Memorials Committee

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Brigadier-General H.T. Hughes

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Following the recommendations from the Special Committee, the Battle Exploits Memorials Committee started planning for the construction of the Canadian memorials. Brigadier-General H.T. Hughes, who had already done a considerable amount of preliminary work, was made Chief Engineer for the whole project.

On September 2, 1920, the Canadian Battlefields Memorials Commission was established. Appointed to the Commission were:

• Major-General the Honourable Sidney C. Mewburn, C.M.G., K.C., M.P., Chairman;
• The Honourable Rodolphe Lemieux, K.C., M.P.;
• Lieutenant-General Sir R.E.W. Turner, V.C., K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O.;
• The Honourable J.G. Turriff;
• Colonel R.W. Leonard;
• Colonel H.C. Osborne, Honorary Secretary;
• Mr. P.E. Nobbs, M.A., F.R.I.B.A., R.C.A., Architectural Adviser.

The first meeting of the Commission was held on November 26, 1920, to discuss the process and conditions for holding a competition for memorial designs, which would be open to all Canadian architects, designers, sculptors and other artists.

After the competition was held, and the designs were selected, Brigadier-General H.T. Hughes was able to identify and acquire the land for eight memorial sites.

Newfoundland Memorials

The Newfoundland Memorials at Beaumont-Hamel, Gueudecourt, Monchy-le-Preux, and Masnières in France; and Courtrai in Belgium, were constructed for the government of Newfoundland between 1924 and 1925.

Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Nangle was the Director of Graves Registration and Enquiry and Newfoundland’s representative on the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission. He played a leading role in selecting and developing the sites where the Newfoundland memorials stand, as well as supervising the construction of each memorial. The landscape architect was Mr. Rudolph H.K. Cochius, a native of Holland who was living in St. John’s, Newfoundland. There, he had been responsible for the lay-out of Bowring Park, the 200-acre historic park in the city’s West-end.

When Newfoundland’s officially became a part of Canada in 1949, the memorials became the responsibility of the Government of Canada.

First World War Memorials

Canada's 13 First World War memorials were erected to honour and remember the achievements and sacrifices of Canadians and Newfoundlanders during the Great War. In May 2001, the Government of Canada announced a major $30-million restoration project to restore and rehabilitate Canada's memorial sites in France and Belgium, in order to maintain and present them in a respectful and dignified manner. On April 2, 2007 restoration of the last memorial site, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, was officially completed and the site was re-opened to the public.

Eight of these memorials stand on notable Canadian battlefields: Vimy Ridge, Bourlon Wood, Courcelette, Dury, Hill 62 (Sanctuary Wood), Le Quesnel, Passchendaele and St. Julien. The other five memorials mark places of historical significance to the then Dominion of Newfoundland: Beaumont-Hamel, Gueudecourt, Monchy-le-Preux, Masnières, and Courtrai. Collectively, they are symbolic of the Canadians and Newfoundlanders who gave their lives during the First World War, and are physical reminders that their sacrifices and victories must never be forgotten.

The repair work required to rehabilitate these memorial sites, at an average of 75 years old, was beyond the scope of routine maintenance. The program of work was carried out in collaboration with Public Works and Government Services Canada, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and other specialists, consultants and military historians. The work was separated into 4 project areas, with the restoration of the Vimy Monument being the main priority.