This memorial was erected in 1924 in the memory of the local war dead of the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War.
History of the Memorial: 1919 The first newspaper mention of a fund for a war memorial came in the late Fall of 1919. Those present were in favour of an early start on a vigorous drive for four thousand dollars. However, more conservative citizens felt that the coming vote on a Union Hospital District was so important that the fund drive should be held until after the vote. However, delays in the hospital affair made it drag on and on. There were those who felt that holding off the monument drive would make the objective harder to reach. Already, people were beginning to forget the war. Early in 1923, an advertisement was inserted in the Free Press asking sculptors and marble firms to present sketches and layouts in various designs. At that time, many towns in the West were either planning Cenotaphs or already had them in place. Moosomin heard from a dozen interested parties, some offering quite intricate and extensive creations. The committee decided on a stone monument bearing the names, and a bronze statue of a First World War soldier mounted thereon. This cut the designs to just three or four and, unfortunately, all but one of these have been lost. One handwritten letter from a sculptor in California is still in my file and makes interesting reading. Several letters are on file from the company who won the contract, Messrs. Quinn & Simpson, marble and granite dealers, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The company had been involved in other memorials. They offered design No.172 within the budget of four thousand dollars. The firm in Portage ran into one unforeseen delay as soon as they saw the list of names of the heroic dead of Moosomin - more than sixty men. From their experience, the stone workers expected a list about half that long. This meant the main stone had to be larger and it took some weeks to find the right stone that was big enough. The Portage firm had established good commercial links with craftsmen in Italy, who produced such fine bronze figures for war memorials. The order for the Moosomin statue was placed in June, 1923. Work on the granite began about the same time. On September 10th, that plaster model of the Moosomin statue (made in Carrara in Italy) had been forwarded to the foundry in the famous city of Florence. Casting began but the project was to run into another delay. The sculptor, Prof. Sergio Vatteroni, was advised of delays by H. Coe and Clerici of Geneva. The delay made it impossible for the S.S. Titan to bear the box to Canada, so the statue was shipped to New York on the steamship "Colombo", and further days were lost getting the shipment to Montreal and then to Moosomin. Plans had been made to unveil the new memorial on November 11th, 1923, but the delays made it necessary to hold the ceremony until the Summer of 1924. 1922 At a time when interest was dropping and progress was slow, the original chairman, and constant worker, Sheriff G.B. Murphy, died suddenly on November 22, 1922. His place was taken by H. Downing, who remained in the president’s office until the unveiling. Sheriff Murphy had made a major contribution to Moosomin in more fields than the monument project, and he was sorely missed. Site Chosen In June of 1923, while sketches, designs, and models of war memorials were being sought, the question of the site came to the fore. Apparently, the committee, at one point, asked permission to erect the monument on C.P.R. land. The Company hurried to say that, while others had asked the same permission, the railway felt that all such memorials should rise on town-owned land. On June 27th, 1923, the World-Spectator reported: "At a well-attended meeting of the Memorial Committee, the corner of Broadway and Carleton was selected as a site for a monument to be erected in the memory of Moosomin’s heroic dead. Messrs. McCurdy, McDonald, Downing, Page and Truscott were nominated to erect the memorial and to select the names to appear on the stone. The monument, with a bronze figure, is likely to cost four thousand dollars. The gentlemen in charge will have a dozen designs to choose from." While the site, at that time, was one of the deepest water holes in town, the site met general approval, especially when the corner already was improved by the telephone office, land titles building and courthouse. The first task was to fill in the pothole and pour a concrete base down below the frost line. The Government of Saskatchewan kindly loaned an engineer to give the levels and grades, and to oversee the filling and cribbing. Another government department gave blueprints of plantings for the entire area. Cost of such landscaping, at that time, was less than two hundred dollars. 1924 The general apathy shown in the early days of the War Memorial project was shaken off by the highly-acclaimed "bee" that saw the site filled and levelled. The community had a good feeling after such a success. However, the possibility of having the monument for November 11th, 1923, was faint, indeed. In fact, it was impossible because letters on file reveal that the committee was still writing in March of 1924 asking the shipping date. On May 1st, 1924, they were still asking that same question. In the meantime, an order for $229.00 was received from Prairie Nurseries in Estevan, and those small items were planted according to a plan laid out by the Saskatchewan Government engineer. The plan was to provide a high, thick background, and to blot out the buildings behind the Cenotaph. It was about this time that the problem arose in regard to the number of names on the stone. There was just not enough room for over sixty names. So, on May 6th, 1924 (five years since the start of the project), the local committee wrote to Quinn and Simpson: "Replying to your letter of the 29th, the committee, having considered this matter, has decided that they do not wish to change the stone selected, and would rather delay the matter a while longer to await a suitable stone." Then, on June 23rd, 1924, came this letter from Quinn and Simpson, marble and granite dealers: "We received a letter a few days ago from the quarry in regard to the Memorial die, but have been expecting further word everyday advising us that the piece is alright. Their letter of June 3rd says that the big die just got to the station, and they will be right at it." On August 20th, 1924, the World-Spectator reported that the site of the Memorial Park had been tidied and fitted up by volunteer labour. "The monument is expected this week." This reveals that the committee must have had continuous heartburn waiting for that crate to arrive. Weeks and months of waiting stretched back into early 1923. Club Busy Three weeks after the unveiling, the girls’ club was back at the money-raising - not for the Cenotaph but for the formal fence for the front of the memorial grounds. They had a bonfire party and raised a hundred dollars. The Band joined in the program, and many car owners provided the transportation. On the 27th of October, the club ladies held a wiener roast at Moosomin Lake (in the old sports grounds), when a dime got both wiener and bun. On December 3rd, the girls held a "Cinderella Dance" from 8:30 to midnight. 1925 The Girls’ Monument Fund Club joined with the local St. Patrick’s Society to stage a St. Patrick’s concert and dance: Men - $1.00; ladies - 50; under 14 - 25. The happy affair was held in the Opera Hall on March 17th. In October of 1925, the girls of the Monument Club said farewell to Miss Mary Scott, who was transferred to Regina. Mary had been a member from day one and was one of the faithful workers in all events. In 1925, the girls held a Halloween Ball in the Opera House, with music by the Kids’ Orchestra. Fund Wound Up In February of 1926, materials for the decorative fence at the War Memorial came to hand and the fence was erected. A metal plaque on the centre post bears these words: "This fence erected by the Girls’ Monument Fund Club 1926." That Club had played a major role in the long-drawn-out, but finally successful, monument project. The Club had come into being in October, 1921, two years after the formation of the Moosomin War Memorial Committee. (Many of the members had come from an earlier organization, the Girls’ Patriotic Club, which had a fine record for helping on the Home Front from 1915 to 1918.) The final meeting, held in February 1926, wound up the monument affairs and disbanded. They had contributed over two thousand dollars to the cause. Moments later, the girls re-organized as the "Ruby Rink Club", so named after their president of the Monument Fund Club, Ruby Donald, who was leaving Moosomin. The girls of the group all agreed that the executive ability and untiring efforts of Miss Donald contributed largely to the success of the Club. That "Ruby Rink Club" would go on to give great support to the new rink which was being built in 1926. Unveiling Sir Frederick W.G. Haultain, acting Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan, was assisted by two Victoria Cross winners at the unveiling of the Moosomin War Memorial in 1924. Sir Frederick, one of the key figures in the formation and political life of Saskatchewan, was so much in demand for public services that the unveiling in Moosomin was delayed from August 4th to the 31st, 1924. The story of the Cenotaph was indeed a story of delays. One of the longer delays was caused by the very fact of the horrendous price paid by the Moosomin community in the loss of so many fine young men in the four years of war from 1914 to 1918. It took weeks to obtain a piece of granite tall enough to contain the list of sixty of the heroic dead. The first moves were made in 1921 and 1922 toward the erection of a First World War monument but, in the year of 1922, it was postponed owing to the drive toward Union Hospital. The Girls’ Monument Club worked ceaselessly for over three years and raised more than fifteen hundred dollars toward the cost of the memorial. The community also had a War Memorial Committee working on the project. The first chairman was Sheriff Murphy, who did not live to see the culmination of the efforts he so ably directed. H. Downing succeeded the late Sheriff in the post as chairman of the committee. When funds had been raised, and the design and construction approved, the company began work on the handsome memorial. When the question of location came up, Mayor V.C. McCurdy and the town council offered the present location. However, there was a problem. The site, at that time, was a deep water-filled depression but, Mayor McCurdy, always a bundle of energy, sparked a plan of volunteer effort to fill and level the site. Actually, 800 loads of earth were carted in (with horses, of course) and placed on the site. When the monument arrived, the site was ready ... but without a twig or leaf growing on it. The official unveiling took place on a sunny day in September, and three thousand people, the largest crowd ever to attend an official function in Moosomin, surrounded the covered monument, and the platform which was erected for the ceremony. The Moosomin Band provided the music, and the bugler was Wm. Woodhead of Wapella. The newspaper report of the event said that "the ceremony of unveiling was carried through with a dignified solemnity which will not soon be forgotten by the immense throng present. The ceremony of unveiling was performed by the Hon. Sir Frederick Haultain, Acting Lieutenant-Governor, who was accompanied by his aide-de-camp, Major Allard; V.C. Mayor McCurdy was chairman. The Guard of Honour, comprising 100 ex-servicemen from the area, was under the command of another Victoria Cross winner, Harry Mullin, native son of Moosomin. In his address to the assembly, Sir Frederick pointed out that, while in Great Britain, they had erected a Cenotaph and paid homage to the Unknown Soldier. Here, in Moosomin, is unveiled a memorial to the known dead, personally dear to all of us. "This splendid monument," he said, "shows the sentiment of the people of the town and district. It is a fitting memorial to those who lost their lives in the Great War, whose bodies now lie in the fields of France and Flanders. They had gone to battle because they loved their country, and right well they played their part." He reviewed the heroic work of the Canadians in the trenches and paid tribute to the sacrifice of our glorious dead. "These men, whose names are being commemorated today, were among the gallant soldiers of this Dominion who had made the name of Canada a revered one in France and Belgium." In his address, Mayor McCurdy spoke of the history of the War Memorial Committee and spoke of the wonderful work of the Girls’ Monument Fund Club, whose contribution of $1,500 entailed so much work and sacrifice. He also spoke of their continuing and inspiring efforts to provide an ornamental fence for the monument site. "The monument is now complete," said Mayor McCurdy, "and it is planned to make this spot beautiful with trees, flowers and green grass, not as a pleasure ground but as a spot where one may pause in quiet contemplation on this enduring monument to remind all of service and sacrifice. I would like to say to the young people that, in the years to come when, in the natural course, you take over the duties and responsibilities of your parents, you will see that this plot of ground is kept ever green and garnished, and that this emblem of sacrifice is lovingly treated." The dedication prayer for the ceremony on Sunday, August 31st, 1924, was given by Rev. Wm. Cole, Rector of St. Alban’s Anglican Church.
