Marianne Meed Ward
Restoration work is currently underway on the Burlington Cenotaph at City Hall. The work, approved by City Council with $25,000 in funding, is being overseen by the Royal Canadian Legion – Burlington Branch #60, and will be completed by Remembrance Day 2017.
Restoration work includes:
- Correcting two names from the First World War portion of the monument (complete)
- Removing the Second World War bronze plaque to correct name inaccuracies
- Engraving the word “peacekeepers” on the base of the monument to acknowledge Canada’s peacekeeping efforts during military conflict
A special thanks to Ward 2 resident Ed Keenleyside for his extensive research on Burlington’s veterans, which led to the corrections to the names. Ed has also compiled a book of stories about the individuals who served.
Cenotaph History
Governor General Lord Byng dedicated this cenotaph in April 1922. Originally located at the west end of Lakeside Park (later renamed to honour Spencer Smith), the monument was moved to City Hall in 1962. The cenotaph is a 10-foot granite column on a two-tier base. A seven-foot bronze statue of a Canadian soldier in First World War battle-dress tops the column, which lists the names of 38 First World War fatalities from Burlington and Nelson Township, 17 key First World War Canadian battle locations and the names of 44 local service people who died in the Second World War. Burlington’s contributions to the military conflicts in Korea and Afghanistan, as well as peacekeepers, are recognized on the base of the monument.
– Adapted from a City of Burlington press release
Congratulations to Ed for his outstanding work on Burlington’s cenotaph and his book “We were just doing our bit”. I’m glad to see that his corrections will be made.