"the Great Response of Canada" While the spirit of heroism and self-sacrifice should be commemorated, there should be no attempt to glorify war. Designed originally to commemorate the 60,000 Canadians who died in the First World War, the National War Memorial in Confederation Square has since come to commemorate all of Canada's war dead. In 1982, the bronze numerals, 1939-1945 and 1950-1953 (Korea), were added to honour the fallen in the Second World War and in Korea. The memorial was officially dedicated in 1939, less than four months before the start of World War II. Vernon March of Farnborough, Kent, in England, was selected for his concept of "the Great Response of Canada" represented by twenty-two members of the main forces in uniform passing through a granite arch under the guidance of allegorical figures of Peace and Freedom. Symbolically, two 5.33m (17ft 6in) high allegories of peace and freedom stand at the apex of the arch, their proximity to each other representing the inseparability of the two concepts, under which the depictions of 22 Canadian service-men, from all branches of the forces engaged in the First World War in historically correct uniforms, move towards the call of duty. To avoid foreshortening from a pedestrian viewpoint, the group of figures is placed at a specific height above street level; each body is approximately 2.4m (7ft 10in) high. At the front are infantrymen; to the left a Lewis gunner, to the right a kilted soldier with a Vickers machine gun. Following these are a pilot in full gear, an air mechanic, and a sailor. Both a cavalryman and a mounted artilleryman are emerging from the arch, side by side, followed by two riflemen pressing through the arch, and behind them are the men and women of the support services, including nurses, a stretcher bearer, and a lumberman. All of these are affixed to a pedestal executed in rose-grey Canadian granite from the Dumas Quarry at Rivière-à-Pierre. The memorial, from grade to the tip of the surmounting statues' wings, is approximately 21.34m (70ft), with the arch itself 3.05m (10ft) wide, 2.44m (8ft) deep, and 8.03m (26ft 4in) high. The lowest step of the pedestal is 15.9m (52ft 2in) by 8.08m (26ft 6in). 503 tonnes of granite and 32 tonnes of bronze were used, all of which rests on a block of reinforced concrete based on steel columns set into bedrock.[3] The Memorial features 23 bronze figures, representing people who fought in the First World War, emerging from an memorial arch, moving from war into peace. Overhead, winged figures symbolize Peace and Liberty. The dates commemorating the Second World War (1939-1945) and the Korean War (1950-1953) were added in 1982. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was added in 2000. Located on the upper plaza, in front of the existing National War Memorial monument, a dark Caledonia granite sarcophagus 12 feet long, 8 feet wide and 3 feet high encloses a casket containing the remains of the unknown soldier. A bronze relief sculpture is secured to the top with stainless steel pins. The four corner pieces of the sarcophagus also has bronze relief work. The unidentified soldier was selected from a cemetery in the vicinity of Vimy Ridge, the site of a famous Canadian battle of the First World War. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was created to honour the more than 116,000 Canadians whether they be navy, army, air force or merchant marine, who died or may die for their country in all conflicts - past, present, and future. | |
