Prince Edward Island

A monument in memory of Captain Samuel Holland, the surveyor who mapped the Island, and who laid out its lots and parishes between the years of 1764 and 1766. Holland has left behind a legacy, particularly in the Rocky Point, and Holland Cove region. Today, a solitary Island sandstone monument stands handsomely in an open patch of grass just up from his original campsite in Rocky Point, which bears his name and brief description of his expedition in 1764.

King George III appointed Captain Samuel Holland as Surveyor-General of British North America in 1764. Holland, who was a skilled surveyor and cartographer, was given the task of providing a detailed survey of the land and water ways of the Island. He was also responsible for noting the physical characteristics of the Island such as soil quality, timber, climate conditions, as well as animal and fish species’; all of which are pertinent to colonizing a new land. Captain Holland’s North American expedition was executed in 1764, with the first stop being Ile Saint Jean. The entire survey took the better part of two years to complete. After travelling around the entire Island with dog-teams of men and canoes, he was able to devise a map with utmost accuracy, displaying every river, stream, harbour and bay. He was notorious for dividing the Island into three counties, and 67 townships, each consisting of 20 000 acres.

Post 1929, this stained glass window was designed by Luxfer Studio Ltd., Concord, Ontario. It is located at the North Aisle of Trinity United Church and honours two sons of parishioners who died in service during the Great War. The window was restored in 2005.

In this window a young knight in mediaeval armour holds a large broadsword passively by the blade as he turns to Jesus. The sword is similar to those engraved on stone cenotaphs across the Empire. The background of the picture, elegantly contained in Gothic style architectural filled with leafy ornamentation, is dark and ominous. Jesus is standing on a layer of cloud and both figures are next to the water, perhaps a reference to Prince Edward Island. Jesus holds in his hands a magnificent crown which he is about to offer to the young soldier, who has already begun to incline his head as he approaches.

This plaque is a tribute to the Canadian Merchant Navy and its vital role during the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War.

The PEI Regiment Museum highlights the history and heritage of military forces on the Island. The museum has a collection of over 4000 artifacts, some dating as far back as 1807, and various interpretative displays. One display is about Islanders who served with the Devil's Brigade. A pair of well-preserved, 117-year-old Boer War biscuits lie sealed in a glass case in Prince Edward Island's only official Canadian Armed Forces military museum. The rare artifacts were rationed to Prince Edward Island soldiers who were among the British and Canadian troops heading to South Africa.

The Prince Edward Island Regiment (RCAC) is a Primary Reserve armoured reconnaissance regiment of the Canadian Forces, Land Force Atlantic Area, 36 Canadian Brigade Group. The regiment is based in Charlottetown and Summerside.

On June 23, 2007, a formal garden over the foundation of where the Rena McLean Memorial Hospital stood, was dedicated as the Rena McLean Veterans Garden. Rena McLean, who was nicknamed Bird, was the daughter of a successful businessman and Conservative politician. A student at Mount Allison Ladies’ College in Sackville, New Brunswick, in 1891-92, she graduated from the Halifax Ladies’ College in 1896. She then studied nursing at the Newport Hospital in Newport, Rhode Island, completing her training in 1908. She was head nurse in the operating room at the Henry Heywood Memorial Hospital in Gardner, Massachusetts, when she enlisted for service in the First World War and was appointed to the Canadian Army Medical Corps on September 28, 1914.

McLean left almost immediately for Britain and in November proceeded to France with No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital. In Le Touquet (Le Touquet-Paris-Plage) she was one of 35 Canadian nurses who helped convert a luxurious hotel into the first hospital in France that was completely staffed by Canadians. In the spring of 1915, 1,100 Canadian soldiers, victims of chlorine gas at the second battle of Ypres, passed through the wards on their way back to Britain. Later that year McLean served briefly with No. 12 British Stationary Hospital at Rouen and then joined the Duchess of Connaught’s Canadian Red Cross Hospital in Taplow, England. After a return to Canada on transport duty, she proceeded to Salonica (Thessaloniki), Greece in October 1916, for service with No. 1 Canadian Stationary Hospital. There was controversy in Britain over nurses having been sent to the Mediterranean and all were returned the next year. McLean then joined No. 16 Canadian General Hospital in Orpington, London. Brief postings to the hospital ship Araguaya and again to No. 16 General Hospital intervened before she was assigned in March 1918 to the Llandovery Castle, which carried Canadian wounded to Halifax. She died on the voyage back to England when the vessel was torpedoed and sunk by the enemy off the coast of Ireland on June 27, 1918. All 14 nursing sisters on board perished.

Rena McLean was an attractive fun-loving woman, kind and caring. As her last letter, written on board the Llandovery Castle on June 16, illustrates, she kept her morale high in spite of the years spent in some of the worst areas of the war. “Here we are once more approaching Halifax, but still as far from home as ever... This trip more than half our patients are amputation cases and would make you heartsick only they are so cheerful and happy themselves... This may be my last trip over and, if it is, that means that I don’t get home until dear knows when, for as soon as I get to England I am going to put in for France and once there it will be hard enough to get away.”

Plaques in memory of Rena McLean are located in St. James United Church in Souris, in Mount Allison’s Memorial Library and in the X-ray laboratory at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. A 200-bed hospital for veterans in Charlottetown was named after her in 1919, but was closed within a year or so. The Canadian Forces Medical Services School at Canadian Forces Base Borden Ontario gives the Llandovery Castle Award each year to the most deserving nursing officer. Rena Maude McLean’s medals are held by the Borden Military Museum, Borden, Ontario. They were placed there by Dr. Gustave Gingras following the death of his wife Rena M. McLean Gingras, a niece of Nursing Sister Rena McLean.

In August 1917, the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island A. C. Macdonald, offered the Governor's residence and grounds for a hospital for returning soldiers. The old residence underwent elaborate repairs. To the west, a new home for the nurses and to the east a 200-bed main building, 200 feet by 40 feet. A number of outbuildings followed. Architects for the project were Chappell and Hunter; the contractors were Messrs, Parkman, Hennessey, and Power. It was officially opened on August 4, 1918, and in November the first 22 Veterans arrived. On June 27, 1919, the Department of Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment, which operated the institution, officially named it the Rena McLean Memorial Hospital. By 1920, the hospital closed and was converted into a technical school. In 1924, Lieutenant Governor, Frank R. Heartz, had the outbuildings removed and renovated the Government House. Except for the nurses' residence, all of the buildings associated with the hospital/school were demolished. The nurses' residence was cut in half and towed to the west end of Brighton Road, where the halves were converted into private dwellings. 

Parishioners erected plaques listing those who served and died in service during the Great War.

Province House, a National Historic Site, displays a Historic Site and Monument Board of Canada plaque dedicated to Colonel John Hamilton Gray. The original was unveiled May 29, 1939, but it is unknown when the current plaque was unveiled.

Colonel John Hamilton Gray (June 1811 - August 1887), was born and educated in Charlottetown. He chose a military career and was sent to England where he was commissioned into the 15th Foot in 1831. He transferred to the 15th Light Dragoons in 1839 and eventually to the 7th Dargoon Guards in 1844. He served in India and South Africa and was decorated for his service in South Africa. In 1852, he retired with the rank of Colonel and returned to Prince Edward Island where he became involved in politics and was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1854. The outbreak of the Crimean War in the same year caused Gray to resume his military service, but after the war he continued his political endeavours, successfully winning in the elections of 1858 and 1859. Gray became the government leader in 1863 and Chairman of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference which laid the groundwork for the British North America Act. Due to his wife's failing health, he resigned shortly after the Conference but returned to the military in 1867 as Adjutant-General of PEI. John Hamilton Gray died in Charlottetown in 1887.

Colonel Gray Senior High School is named in honour of Colonel John Hamilton Gray (June 1811 - August 1887), born and educated in Charlottetown. He chose a military career and was sent to England where he was commissionedinto the 15th Foot in 1831. He transferred to the 15th Light Dragoons in 1839 and eventually to the 7th Dargoon Guards in 1844. He served in India and South Africa and was decorated for his service in South Africa. In 1852, he retired with the rank of Colonel and returned to Prince Edward Island where he became involved in politics and was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1854. The outbreak of the Crimean War in the same year caused Gray to resume his military service, but after the war he continued his political endeavours, successfully winning in the elections of 1858 and 1859. Gray became the government leader in 1863 and Chairman of the 1864 Charlottetown Conference which laid the groundwork for the British North America Act. Due to his wife's failing health, he resigned shortly after the Conference but returned to the military in 1867 as Adjutant-General of PEI. John Hamilton Gray died in Charlottetown in 1887.

Colonel Gray Senior High School is a part of the Eastern School District of Prince Edward Island, who built the school in 1968.

The Town of Stratford Cenotaph was designed by well-known Prince Edward Island Artist, and Canada Council of the Arts Board Member, Henry Purdy along with input from a special Veterans Committee. The committee was chaired by local Veteran Dr. Earl Kennedy.

Created from black granite that was mined in Nova Scotia, the cenotaph was unveiled on November 11, 2006, and dedicated to all Veterans of Stratford. Soldiers representing the three services of the Armed Forces (Air Force, Navy and Army) are depicted on the back of the cenotaph. A victory torch represents NATO efforts to victory, and a farm along with a fishing boat symbolizes what was left behind when Islanders headed off to war. 

The cenotaph is surrounded by oak and maple trees. English Oak represents Britain for the First World War as Canadians fought under the Union Jack flag. Red Maple represents Second World Veterans who were fighting under the Canadian flag. Red Tulips (Holland) represent love, worthiness, and forgiveness. Lavender (France) represents devotion and energy. Boxwood symbolizes longevity and immortality and grasses represent a better tomorrow with growth and expansion. As the grass dies in the fall, it represents rest only to rejuvenate and live again come spring.

In 2021, an Honour Roll of ten metal panels were erected along the walkway leading to the cenotaph. 

These certificates list the members of the church who enlisted in the Canadian military during the First and Second World Wars.