Québec

Mitchell Avenue is named in honour of Lieutenant-Colonel Coulson "Norman" Mitchell, VC, MC, RCE.

Coulson “Norman” Mitchell was born in Winnipeg in December 1889. He graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1912 with a degree in civil engineering. He initially worked for a company with projects in Manitoba and BC but enlisted as a Sapper in November 1914 and embarked for overseas service shortly afterwards. He rose through the ranks and was promoted to Sergeant in November 1915 before being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in April 1916. In December 1916, he was awarded the Military Cross for his actions at “The Bluff” in the Ypres Salient. On 8-9 October 1918, Captain Mitchell earned the Victoria Cross at the Canal de L’Escaut, France when he removed the explosive charges on a critical bridge that the enemy was about to detonate (see citation below). After the war, Mitchell returned to Winnipeg to practice civil engineering but re-joined the military with the outbreak of WW II. Assigned to the Royal Canadian Engineers at Camp Borden, he left for England in 1940, but returned to Canada in 1943 and was appointed Commandant of the Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering in Chilliwack, BC in 1944. After the war, Mitchell moved to Montreal (Town of Mount Royal) where he died in November 1978. He is buried at the National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire, QC.

Flanking the stairs that lead up to the main lobby of the former Royal Bank main branch in the Royal Bank Tower at 360 St. Jacques Street in Montreal are two towering black marble plaques inscribed in gold with the names of 325 bank employees who died in the First World War.

The plaques were erected when the branch opened in 1928. Each are titled In Memoriam and below are the words "Men of this bank who gave their lives in the Great War" with the dates of the conflict in Roman numerals. The names are listed in alphabetical order with A to L on the left plaque and the remaining names continuing on the right plaque. Above each plaque are sculptured in white marble the kneeling figures of Faith and Courage keeping alight the sacred fire of remembrance with their offerings of poppies and laurel.

For an official description of the tablets:
http://www.rbc.com/history/celebrating-our-history/in-remembrance/wwi-memorial-tablets.html

For a list of the names inscribed on the tablets:
http://www.rbc.com/history/celebrating-our-history/in-remembrance/wwi-roll-of-honour.html

Saint James United Church is a heritage church in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is a Protestant church affiliated with the United Church of Canada. Within the walls of St. James United Church is a beautiful commemoration to fallen soldiers during the First World War. The stained glass window shows an angel watching over a soldier standing among other officers under a British flag. The church also acted as a place of refuge for soldiers on their way to Europe during both world wars.

World War I memorial window by C.W. Kelsey 1924

This memorial recalls a historic injustice Canadians should pause to remember, as we recall the First World War and the valour of all those Canadian men, and some women, who served. It is a tribute to mark the memory of the thousands of "enemy aliens" who had their civil rights stripped, and were subsequently imprisoned during Canada's first national internment operations of 1914-1920, following the implementation of the War Measures Act. 2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the War Measures Act - adopted on August 22, 1914 during the First World War. It was used to imprison Ukrainian-Canadians, and other ethnic groups, including German, Hungarian, Serbian, Croatian, and Armenian communities, into one of Canada's 24 internment camps.

Dr. Lubomyr Luciuk, a professor at the Royal Military College of Canada and former chair of the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association (UCCLA), had taken it upon himself to lead the way and organize the memorial. In the CTO ("One Hundred") project, 100 aluminum plaques were simultaneously unveiled at 100 different locations across the country at 11:00am local time on August 22, 2014. The first plaque was unveiled in Amherst, Nova Scotia, followed by a wave of plaque unveilings moved west, from province to province, culminating in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The plaques, which cost $1,000 to make, were funded by the generosity of the Endowment Council of the Canadian First World War Interment Recognition Fund.

Each plaque features a photo of internment prisoners confined behind a wire fence at the Castle Mountain Internment Camp in Banff, Alberta. The Castle Camp, which was built in 1915 at the base of Castle Mountain, was a Canadian internment camp which held immigrant prisoners of Ukrainian, Austrian, Hungarian, and German descent.

The Masonic Memorial Temple was designed in 1929 by architect John S. Archibald and honours Canadian Freemasons who lost their lives in the Great War.

This sculpture, “INFANTRYMAN”, depicts an Infantryman with FN CI rifle held in a relaxed but ready stance. The hat, badges and shoulder titles were modified to represent the parent regiment of the buyer (e.g. the headdress is a Balmoral and the statue has RHC shoulder titles). The statue was ordered by Honorary Colonel of the Black Watch, Colonel Bourne, as the Regimental Centerpiece of the Black Watch Militia Regiment. It was unveiled in 1969, and is dedicated to current and past members of the Canadian infantry.

This trophy is awarded annually to 34 Combat Engineer Regiment’s (CER) top member and is named in honour of a former member of the unit, WO2/Sgt. Major Walter “Rocky” Leja, GM, CD, who received the George Medal in January 1964 for conspicuous courage and outstanding devotion to duty in the dismantling of improvised bombs during the Front de Liberation du Quebec (FLQ) crisis in Montréal.

Walter “Rocky” Leja was born in Poland in 1921 but immigrated to Canada. He joined the Canadian Army and became a sapper, rising to the rank of WO2 or Sergeant-Major. On the night of 16-17 May 1963, fifteen bombs were placed in mailboxes throughout Westmount, as part of the increasing Front de Liberation (FLQ) crisis in Montréal. Five mailboxes exploded in the hours between midnight and dawn. With five explosions already, and no idea how many bombs are planted around the city, the police called in the Army. Five more bombs were found, and the police set out to disarm them as fast as possible. One of Montréal’s few explosive experts was WO2 Walter “Rocky” Leja of 3 Field Engineer Regiment, Royal Canadian Engineers. Sergeant-Major Leja’s first mailbox bomb is near a school in the area of Landsdowne and Westmount avenues. The second bomb is on a crowded downtown street, so Sergeant-Major Leja decides to make it safe on the spot. He calmly reaches into the mailbox, lifts out the bomb, and dismantles it on the sidewalk. The third bomb looks just like the second one, and Sergeant-Major Leja decides to treat it the same way. As soon as his hand touches the package, the bomb explodes, inflicting injuries from which he never recovered. For conspicuous courage and outstanding devotion to duty, Sergeant-Major Leja received the George Medal in January 1964. He died in 1992 at the Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue Veterans’ Hospital.

This memorial features a bronze plaque on a black marble backing. It is dedicated to the memory of graduates and students of the Faculty of Applied Sciences from McGill University who died in the First World War. The names of those lost are arranged in three columns.

This bronze plaque commemorates the memory of Lieutenant Herbert Lawrence Price. It was unveiled in 1908 by his father, brother, sisters, and brother-in-law.

The Sir Arthur Currie Memorial Gymnasium is named in honour of General Sir Arthur Currie, GCMG, KCB, VD, Légion d’honneur and Croix de Guerre (with Palm) – France, Order of the Crown and Croix de Guerre – Belgium, Distinguished Service Medal – US.

General Sir Arthur William Currie was born in December 1875, in the hamlet of Napperton, near Strathroy. He moved to Victoria in 1894 and taught at public schools in the area. In 1897, he joined the 5th Regiment, Canadian Garrison Artillery (C.G.A.) and has the unique distinction of starting his military career as a pre-war militia gunner before rising through the ranks to become the first Canadian commander of the four divisions of the unified Canadian Corps of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was the first Canadian to attain the rank of full general. Currie’s success was based on his ability to rapidly adapt brigade tactics to the exigencies of trench warfare, using set-piece operations. Currie was not afraid to voice his disagreement with orders or to suggest strategic changes to a plan of attack, and is generally considered to be among the most capable commanders of the Western Front and one of the finest commanders in Canadian military history. A courageous and innovative officer, he is best remembered for his involvement in formulating the plan for the great victory at Vimy Ridge. Then, as the first Canadian commander of the Canadian Corps, his brilliant leadership produced the sweeping Canadian victories of the War’s Last Hundred Days. After the war, Currie was offered the position of Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University. He held this post with distinction from 1920 until his death in November, 1933.