The Victoria High School Great War Banner, which dates from Spring 1920, was made of linen flag cloth and designed to hang from a window of the upper floor of the school on the east side, facing Fernwood Street. Originally donated to the school by the Victoria Women's Canadian Club, it remained in storage for many years before being rediscovered in 2004.
The banner measures 10 feet 6 inches wide by 30 feet tall, and its white main field is fringed by a red border. There are seven white maple leaves along the top red border, one for each of the seven Nursing Sisters known to be connected with the school. Below these are nine maple leaves in three rows: three blue in the top row, then three red, then three blue. The red leaves memorialize the three teachers who were casualties of the war and are flanked by the blue leaves of their colleagues.
Beneath this are leaves representing members of the student body who were at one time connected to the school, some having been students before the war began. There are 53 red maple leaves and 397 white maple leaves. Fifty-three red leaves honour the casualties of war known at the date of the banner’s creation. The 397 white leaves represent those who survived the war. The 53 red leaves are in the shape of an elongated shield, similar to the plaque of honour on the Memorial Tablet in the school’s main hall where the names of the fallen are listed.
Each maple leaf was handsewn onto the banner. The total of maple leaves, each representing a known individual connected to the school, is 466. The Great War Banner continues to be hung from the fourth floor windows on Remembrance Day.
