The Edmonton Cenotaph
1 Sir Winston Churchill Square1935-36Municipal Historic Resource
The Great War produced a lost generation. For years, boys, in the most literal sense, had enlisted by the thousands. Reasons among them varied; a decent paying job, the chance to see the world or learn new trades, to show your patriotism. Whatever their rationalization, they volunteered. The Edmonton-based battalions committed nearly 16,000 men [1] to the war effort. Those meatpackers- and miners-turned-soldiers travelled 7,000 kilometres to fight and die in places like Vimy, Ypres, Passchendaele, and Cambrai.
When the war ended, some 3,000 Edmontonians never came home [2]. Those that did continued to bear the physical and mental scars of the conflict — their sacrifice wasn’t lost on their fellow citizens. Within three years of the war’s conclusion several major remembrance projects were undertaken around the capital. Neighbouring Beverly erected a cenotaph, the Edmonton Cemetery put up a Cross of Sacrifice, and the Great War Veterans’ Association constructed Memorial Hall downtown. But for one reason or another, the move to build a proper monument in Edmonton never caught on. Campaigns would start and falter, politicians seemed uninterested, and when one movement picked up speed, the Great Depression hit. In the interim, Edmontonians continued to gather wherever they could for Remembrance Day ceremonies.
That didn’t sit right with A.E. Nightingale. A veteran himself and president of the ex-servicemen’s Red Chevron Club [3], he almost single handedly re-jumpstarted conversations. In a series of letters published throughout February 1935, he made a gallant call-to-action. “Few cities the size of Edmonton — a capital city — have been so negligent in this respect,” he waxed:
“Widows, parents, relatives and friends of the war dead would welcome a permanent monument where they could place a floral remembrance on the anniversary of the death of a loved one. Many mothers and wives of those boys have themselves passed in the interval, and they were never able to perform this act of devoted remembrance because there was no cenotaph. Had they been able to do so it would have lasted to some extent the dull pain in their hearts. But it was denied to them.”
The Edmonton Bulletin’s reporters, sensing a good story, amplified the matter through a series of interviews with veterans. Nearly everyone agreed with Nightingale. “You bet we ought to have a cenotaph in this city… It’s surprising that one hasn’t been built here long ago,” said Aaron Rollinger, an ex-Foreign Legionnaire. Fred Virden, a veteran of the British Army sympathized, saying “Those of us who lost pals and relatives during the war will never forget them, but there are others who have forgotten, I’m afraid... To keep their memory ever green for future generations, a cenotaph should be built.”
On June 20th, Nightingale and the Red Chevron Club, with several other charity and fraternal groups [4], formed the Citizens’ Cenotaph Committee. Almost immediately they set off on their cause and Mayor Joseph Clarke “assured the committee of his whole-hearted, unremitting assistance at all times.” While previous efforts to solicit donations for a cenotaph had been largely unsuccessful, some $4,500 from a previous drive, held in trust, was put towards the project. That meant that only $5,500 needed soliciting. Given the country’s dire economic fortunes, Clarke suggested they turn to a new method of fundraising; public subscription. Through a “Quarter a Week” funding model, the public could give one dollar every month. Said Nightingale, it had “the value of having people regard the cenotaph as a genuinely public memorial.”
Several sites for the new monument were debated, including Market Square, outside the Canadian National Railway Station, and the corner of Jasper Avenue and 100A Street. Ultimately, the Committee chose a triangular plot of land at the junction of 100th Avenue and 102nd Street. The location was chosen for its “plenty of space for congregation of large numbers of people,” and the “many incidents of interest in the early history of the city that were enacted near that site.”
The Committee moved onto a campaigning blitz later that summer. Newspapers opened subscription lists and advertising space, collection boxes put in businesses, radio addresses given, slides inserted into theatre pre-shows, displays at the Hudson’s Bay and T. Eaton stores set up. Aptly timed to the Citizens’ Committee’s drive was the release of Lest We Forget, Canada’s first feature-length documentary with sound, which detailed the nation’s efforts during the war. When the Rialto Theatre secured a copy for show that August, they allowed the Committee to solicit donations in their lobby — $138 was counted on their first week there. “One man from Clover Bar, on coming out of the theatre,” the Bulletin recalled, “paused by the box, wrote out a cheque for $5 and slipped it in.”
Fifty canvassers walked the streets. The campaign’s theme, “The Chain of Remembrance,” was deliberately showy. Every volunteer carried one-yard rolls of one-inch adhesive tape. They collected dimes, sticking them close together on the tape until they completed their roll. At headquarters, they chained these ‘links’ — holding about five dollars each — as a show of Edmonton’s support. In the words of the Bulletin, it bonded “all citizens as one in remembrance of the city’s war dead.”
Thanks to some sizable donations, the Committee largely reached their fundraising target by early October. Foundation construction began by month’s end, although they postponed work on the memorial itself until spring 1936. Further donations, totalling over $4,000, were gifted by the Imperial Order of Daughters of the Empire. Despite Edmonton being one of the last major cities to move forward on a war memorial, the success of the campaign, “in a time of adverse conditions,” said one writer, “is evidence that the delay was not caused by any lack of appreciation of the sacrifices made or because the memory of those had faded from the minds of the townsfolk.”
Construction on the monument-proper began in May 1936, with unemployed ex-servicemen serving as labourers. British Columbia Monumental Works, the winning bidder, produced an unusually stark design that followed “simple, yet wholly effective lines throughout” with a staggered, ziggurat form [5]. Its austere appearance is fairly unique among its Albertan contemporaries, almost befitting its message of the Great War’s needless sacrifice and the eternalness of death. Where decoration exists on the granite slab, it seeks to reinforce that point. The Bulletin described:
“At the front is a highly decorated sarcophagus, symbol of the tomb of the unknown soldier. This is supported by three lions, emblematic of the Empire. Below this, in large, subdued, raised letters, is one word, ‘Remembered.’
“Above the sarcophagus is a hand reaching down out of the cloud, with a wreath of victory being placed on the unknown tomb, while rising from the cloud is a Cross of Sacrifice on which is superimposed a flaming torch, symbol of courage and willingness of life that carries on in the service of others.
“At the back is the only emblematical military symbol in the form of an unsheathed sword, the symbol of guardianship.”
Edmonton’s Cenotaph was formally unveiled on Thursday, August 13th, 1936. A throng of 5,500 Edmontonians gathered; “All near-by windows and roofs had their quota of spectators. All viable space in the area was occupied,” recounted one reporter. “Men who served with distinction in the World War mixed with those who have known only mufti. The younger generation looked on in admiration, little knowing the exact extent of the sacrifices made by those being honoured.”
At 3:00 P.M. a military procession, consisting of the Edmonton Fusiliers, Edmonton Regiment, 19th Alberta Dragoons, and Royal Canadian Naval Reserve Regiment, marched arms swinging down 102nd Street to envelop the memorial. They laid wreaths as three soldiers and one sailor took up reserved arms at each of the monument’s corners. A bugler bellowed The Last Post, and pipers played The Lament. Lord Tweedsmuir, Governor-General of Canada, gave a three minute address calling to mind the nation’s war-effort and the importance of remembrance. Mayor Clarke followed, paying tribute to the veterans present and thanking the Citizens’ Committee for the work they had done.
The last to speak was Mr. Nightingale. After presenting a deed to Mayor Clarke, he underlined the monument’s purpose:
“At least 3,000 Edmonton district men and women died as a direct result of service in the Great War — approximately one in five of enlistment.
“These Edmontonians lie buried in France and Belgium, in the United Kingdom, in Egypt, Salonika, Syria, Palestine, North Russia and Serbia. This cenotaph in granite has been erected as the tomb of 3,000 of our fellow citizens who died in the service of their country.”
Edmonton’s Cenotaph continued to stand tall at its original location overlooking Bellamy Hill for five decades. Larger crowds and concerns over traffic safety saw the one-hundred ton memorial moved to City Hall in 1978. Thrice rededicated, the Cenotaph now serves as the ceremonial tomb for all Edmontonians killed, not just in the First World War, but the Second, Korea, and Afghanistan as well.
Image Gallery:
Cited Notes:
A not-insignificant number considering Edmonton’s population in 1914 was approximately 75,000.
The official count is 2,365 Edmontonians dead, however, it is accepted that the real number is higher. This figure did not account for those who volunteered in units outside of Edmonton, those who were reservists in the British Imperial Army, nor those who returned home and later died of war-related injuries.
Specifically, the club represented members of the First Canadian Contingent. The Contingent, consisting of some 30,000 soldiers, were the first Canadians to head overseas to fight in the Great War. To be a member of the Red Chevron Club, one must have been in serving in Europe by December 31st, 1914, a mere four months after the war’s start.
The committee eventually featured representatives from thirty-two organizations including: the Army & Navy Veteran’s Association; Imperial Veterans Association; Royal Canadian Legion; 49th Battalion Association; Edmonton Chamber of Commerce; Edmonton Bulletin and Journal; Federation of Community Leagues; Gyro Club; Kiwanis Club; Rotary Club; Salvation Army; Loyal Order of Moose; War Widows Association; Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire; Overseas Nursing Sisters’ Association; Council of Jewish Women; Women’s Conservative Association; and Women’s Canadian Club among others.
Some controversy arose over the selected design. The Edmonton Journal ran a story on March 24th, 1936 lambasting the Citizens’ Cenotaph Committee’s choice of hiring a Vancouver firm “without even giving an Edmonton firm the chance to bid on the job.” Their competitors at the Bulletin disagreed, asserting that Committee had heard an earlier proposal from R.T. Dykes, owner of Edmonton Granite, Marble & Tile, and William Blakey, noted Edmonton architect, that cost some $3,000 more. The Committee maintained that Dykes and Blakey came back with a revised, “slightly larger but less ornate” design to match British Columbia Monument’s cost, but by then the tender had already been awarded.
Sources:
“Edmonton’s Cenotaph,” Edmonton Journal, February 12, 1935, p.4.
A.E. Nightingale, “Cenotaph For Edmonton,” Edmonton Bulletin, February 14, 1935, p.4.
“The Inquiring Reporter,” Edmonton Bulletin, February 26, 1935, p.9.
“Advance Plan For Cenotaph War Memorial,” Edmonton Bulletin, June 21, 1935, p.3.
“$10,000 Sought For Cenotaph Here,” Edmonton Journal, June 21, 1935, p.9.
“Cenotaph’s Early Erection Planned,” Edmonton Journal, June 22, 1935, p.4.
“6 Sites Suggested For City Cenotaph,” Edmonton Bulletin, June 27, 1935, p.24.
“Move Made For Cenotaph,” Edmonton Journal, June 27, 1935, p.8.
“Week’s Campaign For Cenotaph Set,” Edmonton Journal, July 12, 1935, p.15.
“Site Chosen For Erection Of Cenotaph,” Edmonton Bulletin, July 26, 1935, p.5.
“Cenotaph To Be Genuine War Memorial,” Edmonton Bulletin, August 16, 1935, p.9.
“City Cenotaph Drive To Open Next Tuesday,” Edmonton Bulletin, August 20, 1935, p.11.
“Film Fans Five $138 For Cenotaph,” Edmonton Journal, August 20, 1935, p.17.
“City’s War Dead Totalled 2,365,” Edmonton Journal, August 27, 1935, p.10.
“Cenotaph Fund List Growing,” Edmonton Bulletin, September 5, 1935, p.11.
“City Cenotaph Fund Campaign Is Under Way,” Edmonton Bulletin, September 9, 1935, p.9.
“$100 Is Donated To Cenotaph,” Edmonton Journal, September 11, 1935, p.12.
“Forty-Niners Boosting Funding,” Edmonton Bulletin, September 12, 1935, p.9.
Cenotaph Fund Receives Boost,” Edmonton Bulletin, September 18, 1935, p.2.
“Erection of Cenotaph Is Now Assured,” Edmonton Bulletin, October 7, 1935, p.9.
“Notice of Public Tender: Foundation Work for Edmonton Cenotaph,” Edmonton Journal, October 7, 1935, p.19.
A.E. Nightingale, “Edmonton’s Cenotaph,” Edmonton Journal, October 9, 1935, p.4.
“Cenotaph Committee’s Action Awakens Anger In Edmonton,” Edmonton Journal, March 24, 1936, p.9.
“Committee Has Reply To Shaft Critic,” Edmonton Bulletin, March 25, 1936, p.9.
J.S. Cowper, “The Passing Show,” Edmonton Bulletin, April 13, 1936, p.4.
“Cenotaph Is Fine Tribute To War Dead,” Edmonton Bulletin, April 16, 1936, p.9.
“The Cenotaph,” Edmonton Bulletin, April 18, 1936, p.4.
“Give Large Sum In Aid Cenotaph,” Edmonton Journal, April 21, 1936, p.16.
“5,500 Look On As Governor General Unveils Cenotaph,” Edmonton Bulletin, August 14, 1936, p.3.
“5,300 Persons See Cenotaph Unveiled,” Edmonton Journal, August 14, 1936, pp.1, 5.
