George Hill's monument “To the Men of Westmount who gave their lives in the Great War” features a soldier wearing battle gear, rifle in his left hand, marching forward, full of purpose and intent. He glances over his right shoulder to see the figure of a comely, womanly winged angel pointing the way to a place where he can do glorious battle with the enemy. This Canadian soldier is on the side of the angels, the side chosen by Heaven itself.
Sir Arthur Currie, whom historians generally regard as Canada's finest soldier, and Canadian-born U.S. Admiral William Sowden Sims unveiled the memorial on November 11, 1922. Built for $40,000, the cenotaph, the work of sculptor G.W. Hill, features two figures that are 12 feet high - an angel protecting a soldier. It is located near a parapet wall engraved with the names of those from Westmount who died in the First and Second World Wars.
George William Hill was born in Shipton, Eastern Townships, in 1861. He learned to carve marble in his father’s company, after he graduated from college. Between 1889 and 1894, he left Quebec to study sculpting at the École nationale des beaux-arts and Académie Julian in Paris. When he returned to Montreal, he opened a studio and worked with architect Robert Findlay and brothers Edward and William S. Maxwell. Known for his public monuments and war memorials, he is now considered one of the most important Canadian sculptors of the early twentieth century.
Hill designed several monuments commemorating Canadians lost in the South African War, including the Strathcona and South African Soldiers' Memorial in Quebec and Boer War Soldiers Monument in Ontario. At the end of the First World War, Hill was awarded several contracts by towns and cities wishing to pay homage to citizens who had died on the battlefields. Between 1920 and 1930 he designed these monuments: Westmount Cenotaph, Magog Cenotaph, Argenteuil Cenotaph, Richmond Cenotaph, Sherbrooke War Memorial in Quebec; Pictou County War Memorial in Nova Scotia; Soldier's Monument, The Soldier and Nurses’ Memorial in Ontario; and the Soldier's Monument in Prince Edward Island.
