Guelph Cross of Sacrifice

The IODE Cross of Sacrifice is a memorial which was presented to the City of Guelph by the Victoria-Guelph Chapter of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire in June of 1925. It was erected to commemorate those who died while serving during World War I and was dedicated by the local Chapter of the I.O.D.E. on land originally owned by Canadian National Railways. The cross now honours victims of both wars, the Korean War and peacekeeping missions.

The tall granite cross which holds a bronze crusader’s sword stands west of Guelph Central Station at the southeast corner of Carden and Wyndham Streets, near the historic Guelph Armoury. Individuals gather at the cross every November 11 to lay wreaths in remembrance of those who have given their lives in military service to the country. The Cross of Sacrifice is a Commonwealth war memorial designed in 1918 by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial War Graves Commission (now the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). It is frequently found in Commonwealth war cemeteries containing 40 or more graves. Its shape is an elongated Latin cross with a bronze longsword, blade down, affixed to the front of the cross.

Inscription

OUR
GLORIOUS
DEAD
1914-1918
ERECTED BY THE GUELPH CHAPTER OF THE IODE MAY, 1925

A nos héros
morts à la guerre

1914-1918
Te Deum Laudamus
1939-1945

Don de la Section de guelph de l’IODE
May 1925

Ce mémorial est dédié à nos héros morts à la guerre en 1914-1918, 1939-1945 et 1950-1953. Il a été érigé par le chapitre de Guelph de l’Ordre impérial des filles de l’Empire (IODE).

Le texte de l’inscription figure dans la section anglaise.