Wednesday, July 21, 2021


 Today I return to the National War Memorial with shots taken a few days ago on an overcast day. The Memorial occupies the heart of Confederation Square, surrounded by other landmarks. It was dedicated by King George VI in 1939, months before the outbreak of the Second World War. Meant to pay homage to the dead of the First World War, it has been rededicated since then to include World War Two, Korea, Afghanistan, the South African War, and Canadian military service in general.

This view from the southeast includes some of the summer flowers. There were groundskeepers around doing some routine maintenance around the back of the Memorial, hence the fencing you'll see in some of these shots.

At present members from each branch of the military are serving as sentries throughout the day, at post for an hour at a time before being relieved by the next set of sentries. This is ongoing until the day before Remembrance Day. 

At the base of the Memorial is the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier. A Canadian soldier who fell at the Battle of Vimy Ridge during the First World War, his remains were re-interred here at the turn of the millennium.

The Memorial was designed as a place of mourning and commemoration. High overhead angelic figures of allegory are positioned, while a set of figures, representing each branch of the services during the First World War, move through the gate. These are all larger than life.

Off to the sides are sitting areas with plaques that go into detail about aspects of the Memorial. This is on the west side.

The sitting area on the east side includes plaques about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

A final shot from the east side.


  1. We do have a way of adding wars to memorials don't we? The "war to end all wars" never does.

  2. This has always been a favourite memorial William, the design and execution is spectacular ✨

  3. Nice photos of this impressive monument.

  4. I like the design of your war memorial.

  5. @Linda: it was well designed.

    @italiafinlandia: definitely.

    @David: there is no such thing as a good war. But there are wars that must be fought, because to not do so would be even more horrific. World War 2 is such a case.

    @Grace: it was well rendered.

    @Tom: quite so.

    @Jan: thank you.

    @Sharon: as do I.

  6. Magnificent memorial monuments ~ Awesome photos too ~

    Living in the moment,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

  7. Funny that a bygone technology is used for the monument.

  8. Great one - we always need to not forget.

  9. Ah, Vimy Ridge. Just finished reading Nick Lloyd's account of that battle.

  10. @RedPat: indeed.

    @Francisco: thanks.

    @Carol: thank you.

    @Bill: very much so.

    @Red: the days of the horse in combat ended essentially with the Great War, but the example of mounted cavalry transitioned well into armoured cav.

    @Iris: definitely.

    @Anita: thank you.

    @Revrunner: Vimy was a threshold for us.

    @Joanne: very much so.

  11. Very moody this post, outstanding monument.

  12. It's a really nice memorial.

  13. Such an imposing memorial:)

  14. Gran monumento conmemorativo de dos grandes guerras que azotó la humanidad. Eso es a lo que conduce el guerra y la destrucción.