Elmira Cenotaph

This memorial was erected by the town of Elmira in honour of the local war dead from the First World War. It was dedicated on 5 August 1923. The Elmira War Memorial stands in Memorial Park, previously known as South Gore Park, and was purchased and erected by a memorial firm in Galt. It stands fifteen feet high, with a base consisting of granite and a soldier composed of white marble bought from Italy. The unveiling and dedication ceremony took place on August 5th, 1923, during the "Old Boys Reunion" held from August 4th to 8th, 1923. Later, the Town added memorials for the Second World War (dedicated in 1957) and the Korean War (dedicated in 1988). Both of these memorials are constructed of granite. Since soft, white, Italian marble is subject to erosion, the Elmira War Memorial has recently required repair to allow it to remain for a few more years. This repair work was done by Doug and Mike Bronson of Shantz Memorials. As to why the soldier was composed of white marble and constructed in Italy, Robert Shipley of St. Catharine's, Ontario, sheds light on this issue in his book: "To Mark Our Place". It seems that four or five memorial firms in Canada were promoting war memorials throughout the country at a time in the 1920s when there was a demand. These memorials often consisted of a granite base manufactured in Canada and a mounted figure sculpted in Italy. Canada did not have the necessary artisans to accomplish the tremendous demand but Italy did. The Canadian memorial firms usually acquired these memorial figures from the firm of Walton, Goody, and Cripps of 48 Eagle Wharf Road, London, England. This English company had a branch operation in Carrera, Italy, where many of the Italian artisans had gathered.