Cookstown Cenotaph

This memorial, located in Cookstown Veterans Memorial Park, was dedicated in 1935. It was designed and constructed by Alfred Davis. The plaque located on the monument was a gift from the Cookstown Women’s Institute and was originally unveiled on April 11, 1921 in a bank in Cookstown.

Another plaque with the names of those lost in the Second World War and a stone for the Korean War have been added to the memorial. A German Minenwarfer (trench mortar) sits in the garden in front of the memorial.

The Cookstown cenotaph was renovated in 2019/2020. The World War I artillery piece that sat on a concrete pedestal in front of the monument was been removed for restoration by an Innisfil company, and the cenotaph itself is slated for repairs and the addition of a new plaque. Alliston Legion Branch 171 presented a cheque for $1,600 in support of the restoration project, now being undertaken by the Town of Innisfil. The work is expected to be completed in 2020 – in time for the Remembrance Day service.

Inscription

IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THE MEN OF COOKSTOWN AND VICINITY WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN FREEDOMS CAUSE IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1918

Elmer McMaster Aug. 1918 France
Wm. R. Coleman Sept. 1916 Somme
Wm. J. Moir June 1916 Ypres
Wm. Fraser Sept. 1916 Somme
Geo. Copeland Sept. 1916 Courcelette
Hilliard Rainey Oct. 1916 Courcelette
Clarence Chantler Oct. 1916 Courcelette
Alvin Arnold Oct. 1916 Somme
Clark Duff Oct. 1916 Courcelette
W.J. Perneigie Sept. 1917 Somme
Jno. Baker May 1917 Lens
Wellington Dunham Sept. 1916 Somme
Walter Thomas Apr. 1917 Vimy
Wm. Burns May 1917 Fresnoy
Jas. Sutherland Apr. 1917 Vimy
Albert Prince May 1917 Fresnoy
Archie Smith Oct. 1917 Passchendaele
Alf. Griggs Dec. 1917 France
Frank Rankin Apr. 1917 Vimy
H. Bassingthwaite Sept. 1917 Lens
Earl Neilly June 1917 Fresnoy
Gordon Nevils July 1918 France
Alex Gooch Aug. 1918 France
Calvin F.W. Duff Aug. 1918 Amiens
Ed Taggart Sept. 1918 Arras
Sam’l Draper Aug. 1918 Amiens
Lorne Corbett Sept. 1918 Arras
Esten Lowrie Dec. 1918 France
Wm. Hill Dec 1916 Camp Borden
Harry Flay Sept. 1916 Camp Borden

GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS, THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS.

IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF COOKSTOWN SONS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN WORLD WAR II 1939-1945

Fred Batters – Oct. Belgium 1944
Douglas Dawson – Sept. Holland 1944
Gordon Dawson – Nov. Germany 1944
Robt. Mumberson – Sept. North Sea 1944
Clayton Philson – Canada 1944
Archie Riley – Oct. Belgium 1944

Ce monument, situé dans le parc commémoratif des vétérans, a été inauguré en 1935. Il a été conçu et construit par Alfred Davis. La plaque qui se trouve sur le monument était un cadeau du Cookstown Women’s Institute et a été dévoilée initialement le 11 avril 1921 dans une banque à Cookstown.

Une autre plaque portant les noms de ceux tombés au champ d’honneur pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale et une pierre pour commémorer la guerre de Corée furent ajoutées au monument. Un minenwerfer (mortier de tranchée) allemand se trouve dans le jardin, devant le monument.

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