National War Memorial and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Ottawa

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

The National War Memorial in Ottawa is a monument every Canadian is familiar with whether we have seen it in person or on Remembrance Day national TV broadcasts. The history of this memorial is an interesting one. For one thing so many obstacles got in the way like political bickering and the death of the sculptor that it almost didn’t get completed at all. But, 14 years after it started, Canada became one of the last Commonwealth countries to finally dedicate a national memorial to its fallen soldiers of the First World War. 

The end of the First World War, or The Great War as it was known then, left many Canadians feeling a strange mix of patriotic nationalism and utter sorrow. The Great War had been a horrible, needless affair. According to Veterans Affairs Canada, if we include the Canadian civilian deaths and the numbers from the Dominion of Newfoundland (which, of course, would not be a member of Canadian Confederation until the Smallwood government of 1949) then Canada’s war dead stands at 68,148, while the military wounded numbers are 152,046. But war itself didn’t kill all these men and women. Some died through disease or wounds that had become so horribly infected while a few others died of the Spanish influenza that swept Europe at war’s end. The soldiers, who had been fatigued and in some cases undernourished, had weaker immune systems, making them particularly vulnerable to succumbing to the flu.

Photo Credit: Library and Archives Canada: PA-001125

For those who returned injured, their stories were almost more tragic than death itself. Men had lost limbs or feet, suffered lung damage from the mustard and chlorine gas, or sustained disfigurements from shrapnel wounds or gas exposure. Their situations were further made worse as they returned to an economically depressed country that would take another three years to climb out of. These soldiers’ disfigurements certainly would not have made their job searches any easier. In some small communities across Canada, almost an entire generation of men had been wiped out and these communities struggled to carry on without their sons, brothers, husbands and fathers. Many soldiers and their families felt embittered and, in some cases, disenfranchised. As one response to this collective sorrow across the country, many communities began to band together to create memorials to their fallen sons and daughters. Some key factors in this memorialisation process were to honour the dead, serve as a way for communities to grieve and bond together, and to raise awareness that war and its effects should never be forgotten. All over the Commonwealth from Britain to New Zealand, national war memorials were being built and Mackenzie King’s government decided to do the same in 1925.

In 1925 a competition was launched to find an artist to design and construct the National War Memorial. The competition was open to all British born subjects, although they could be residing anywhere in the world. The Canadian government received 127 replies of which 66 were from Canadians. Competitors were asked to submit a drawing and description of their work. From here, a total of seven were short-listed and these seven were asked to submit small sculptures to present a 3-D rendering of their idea. The person who had the winning design was Vernon March, a British sculptor. March was born Hull, East Yorkshire in 1891 and lived most of his adult life in Farnborough, Kent just south of London. He had completed a couple other noted sculptures including the Samuel de Champlain Monument in Orillia, Ontario. The National War Memorial would, however, become March’s masterpiece and was constructed mainly in Kent. Sometimes the Memorial is referred to as “The Response” because March actually titled his proposal “The Great Response of Canada”.

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

March’s winning design comprised of the bronze figures you see on the Memorial. The actual arch-way, where the figures emerge from, was conceived and built by another designer much later. March set to work on creating his plaster figures, which would later be cast in bronze. Vernon March came from a highly artistic family. All his brothers and sisters, who were all sculptors, contributed to the creation of the bronze figures. This would prove a blessing as in 1930, March suddenly fell very ill with the flu and passed away, leaving the project only half completed. The Canadian government was quickly informed and accepted the siblings offer to complete the project. Throughout the process, Canadian officials who inspected the progress made suggestions as to how the bronze figures should be represented. There was debate over the authenticity of the figures in the beginning and officials asked the March family to make several revisions to the design to reflect that authenticity of Canadian uniform styles and equipment used. The figures were finally completed and approved in 1932 and went on public display in London’s Hyde Park over the summer months. Meanwhile, back in Canada, squabbling continued into where the actual Memorial would be placed and how it would be properly presented.

Mackenzie King, who was a strong urban planning supporter all throughout his political career, had always wanted the Memorial to be placed in Confederation Square and had set aside that land during his first term as Prime Minster for that specific purpose. Yet, others debated about whether the Memorial should be placed on Parliament Hill, or perhaps another area within the National Capital Region. Then, there was the question of who would pay for the upkeep of the land. Before all those involved in the process realised, it was now 1937, nearly 20 years after the end of the Great War and Canada was lagging behind the Commonwealth in creating their own national memorial.

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

In 1937, the Montreal based E.G.M Cape and Company was awarded the contract to built the granite archway. Confederation Square was finally confirmed to be the location of the Memorial…just as King wanted…and a Toronto contractor was hired to beautify the area with stone walkways and terraces of which several different kinds of Canadian granite have been utilised in the construction. Since the summer of 1932, the bronze figures sat stored away in Vernon March’s family workshop in Kent, and were finally transported to Ottawa in 1938. On May 21, 1939, 21 years after the conflict ended, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth unveiled the Memorial in a public ceremony. This unveiling was also significant as it marked the first time in Canadian history that a ruling British monarch had made an official visit to Canada.

The Memorial is impressive in both its size and attention to detail. There are 22 figures marching through the archway and they represent all the major military and support divisions that served Canada in France and Belgium during the War. From front to back of the arch, the marching service men and women follow the 1914-1918 hierarchy of their importance in the conflict. Though this perception of their importance is now debated by a number of historians, it is important to add that this perception was a reflection of societal values about war remembrance at the time. Leading the way are the infantry men, calvary men, a mounted artillery man , followed by an airman, a sailor, a sapper, a lumberman, stretcher bearers and nurses. The figures are historically accurate in reflecting uniforms, badges, equipment, and caps. In 1982, the Memorial was rededicated to the public with the additions of the Second World War and Korean War conflicts. No longer was the Memorial just a monument to the Great War, but to all wars that Canadian have contributed to.

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

Photo Credit: Laura Waldie

In the year 2000, a new piece was added to the front of the Memorial. It is the Tomb of the Unknown Solider. The original resting place of this unknown Canadian soldier had been in Souchez, France, close to the Vimy Ridge Memorial. During the Millenium celebrations, the Canadian government wanted to dedicate a monument to the sacrifice of all Canadians in war. The body of the soldier was disinterred, draped with a Canadian flag and flown back to Canada aboard a Canadian Forces military aircraft. The soldier laid in state in the Centre Block of Parliament Hill for 3 days before being transported on an authentic Great War era horse-drawn gun carriage to be reinterred in the tomb at Confederation Square. Not only does this soldier symbolise the sacrifice of all Canadians lost in war but, perhaps more importantly, he is a symbol of closure for thousands of families who do not have a grave to visit in Canada, for the majority of war dead are buried in far off lands. Since this soldier’s re-interment, a Remembrance Day tradition of laying individual poppies on the tomb has gained momentum every year. I couldn’t get near the tomb last year because the crowds were larger due to the presence of Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.

If you ever have the chance to visit Ottawa, there are four big events that are a must: the Tulip Festival, Canada Day, Winterlude, and Remembrance Day. The ceremony on Remembrance Day is quite moving and you will be amazed at how such a large crowd can be so quiet. And after seeing in on CBC for so many years, it is just beyond words to describe the emotion of being there in person.

For a really fine read on the memorialisation of World War One in Canada, I would highly recommend Death So Noble: Memory, Meaning, and the First World War  by Jonathan F. W. Vance, a history professor at the University of Western Ontario. It gives you an idea of the turmoil and frustration these men and their families tried to endure after 1919 and how communities across Canada responded to that collective grief and frustration by creating various memory projects.

My thanks to Veterans Affairs Canada, the National Capital Commission, and the Public Works and Government Services of Canada for the information to produce this story. I hope you are all able to get out and take part in a Remembrance Day ceremony near you.

Military History Mackenzie King, Ottawa, War remembrance, WWI