Malvern Memorial

Beginning in 1914 and lasting until the fall of 1918, Malvern Collegiate’s children volunteered to enter the carnage of what would be the greatest and most catastrophic war in this country’s history. Malvern students fought in all engagements of the Canadian Corps throughout the unit’s short but violent history. A total of 25 Malvern students made the supreme sacrifice and lie buried in Europe.

On May 19, 1922 after much effort and fundraising a monument was raised by the local community with the assistance of Veterans Affairs in memory of the Malvern students. A large crowd was present to share in the celebration of the lives these students so willingly laid down for their country. The monument shown here was sculpted by Emmanuel Hahn and features the names of all of the students killed etched on its side. The figure modeling the monument is none other than Toronto’s own Ned Hanlin. He is holding a down turned sword in one hand symbolic of the end of conflict and broken chains in the other, symbolic of freedom. Emmanuel Hahn is probably most famous as the designer of the Bluenose sculpture on the back of the Canadian dime and the Caribou on the back of the Canadian quarter. He is also famous as the victim of racism and anti German bias in the years following the Great War.

In 1925 Winnipeg held a contest to design and build a memorial to the Great War. Emmanuel Hahn submitted a design that was initially the winning one. Several groups of vocal citizens in Winnipeg, including the Winnipeg Board of Trade, the Provincial Chapter of the I.O.D.E., the Traveller’s Association and the returned soldiers’ associations, vehemently protested the choice on the grounds of Mr. Hahn’s birthplace. Emmanuel Hahn had come to Canada in 1892 at the age of eleven and he was a naturalized Canadian but he was German born. On February 25, 1926 at a war memorial meeting it was decided that Mr. Hahn should be paid the five hundred dollars for the winning design and that the contest be re-opened to persons British-born or born in countries which were allies of Britain during the war. The second contest was won by a Canadian born woman sculptor, Elizabeth Wood of Toronto. Unfortunately, she happened to be the wife of Emmanuel Hahn. In November, 1927, citizens rejected the decision of the judges because “it didn’t appeal to them”. Mrs. Hahn got her five hundred dollars and a local Winnipeg designer was chosen. Such was the hysteria of the times. Several years ago, vandals damaged the memorial severing its arm. Lengthy exposure to weather has placed it in grave danger of completely disintegrating.

RESTORATION

The memorial at Malvern CI was restored in 2011 and re-dedicated at a ceremony held Nov. 4. Below is the story from the official re-dedication program detailing the work, written by David Fuller, a member of the Malvern Red and Black Society. Within 36 hours of the ceremony, vandals climbed on the memorial, scraping off some of the letters from Cecil Annis’s name, and wrapped it in blue tape. A year or two later, more vandals climbed up the memorial and stole the newly replaced sword. No further work has been done to replace the sword since, due to concerns about cost and security of the statue, despite the installation of CCTV cameras.

Nov. 4, 2011

After years of looking skyward with one hand and no sword, the heroic figure on the Malvern memorial can once again stand vigil over the names of the fallen from the First World War with pride.

A successful fund-raising effort led by the Malvern Red and Black Society enabled the statue to be renovated in October 2011. The Toronto District School Board committed to cover the cost of repairs to the base, while donations from the community and a grant from Veterans Affairs Canada allowed the hiring of a professional conservator that would ensure a careful and historically accurate restoration.

Over the 89 years since it was first dedicated on Friday, May 19, 1922, the memorial suffered from the effects of weather and youthful exuberance. The lead letters fixed to it were falling off, the base was crumbling and the right hand and sword were missing. The surface was also stained with rust from an exposed iron pin, paint and egg splatter.

The hand was found on the ground and deposited for safekeeping in the school vault and for years, members of the community tried to draw attention to the sad state of their monument. After several false starts, the fund-raising drive was finally successful and conservator Susan L. Maltby of Maltby
& Associates was brought in to begin the work.

Research revealed that the statue, created for the Thomson Monument Company by sculptor Emanuel Hahn (left), had a twin in Alvinston, Ont., which could be used as a reference to create a copy of the missing sword. Brett Davis and sculptor Frank Anjo were brought in to the project to replicate it
and Neil Sanderson of Sanderson Monument Company assisted with the refitting. The iron pin that originally held the hand was removed – it had been staining the stone for a number of years – and a new one in stainless steel was inserted.

Originally adorned with hand-carved lead letters, the memorial had been restored at some point using cast white metal letters attached using a variety of silicone sealants, which smeared onto the stone. Some letters were put on upside down and the original spacing was not respected. A number were now missing or bent.

“Lead lettering is a skill few still possess,” said Maltby in her report to the committee. “Sanderson Monument is one of the few companies I know of who offer this service.” The decision was made to retain all of the cast letters that were securely fastened to the stone. Those in danger of falling off were removed and retained for the archive. Carver Eric Schop drilled holes to receive the lead, which was then pounded in to place and the letters cut by hand.

“I consider it an honour to have been part of the team restoring Malvern’s War Memorial,” Maltby said. “Emanuel Hahn was a gifted Canadian artist and his legacy lives on.”

Inscription

[left/gauche]

CECIL PUGH ANNIS
WILLIAM KENNEDY COMMINS M.C. D.S.O.
GORDON PARSONS DAVIDSON
JOHN PATRICK DAVIDSON
GORDON EZRA DUKE
MARTIN JAMES FLOOD
CECIL JOHN FRENCH M.C.
ARTHUR PATRICK GORMAN
WILLIAM ALBERT HEAL
WILLIAM JOHN HIRD
WALTER JAMES HUTCHINSON
WILFRED JOHN JONES
ROY WESLEY KERR

[front/devant]

TO THE MEMORY OF
THOSE FROM THIS SCHOOL
WHO LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES
IN THE GREAT WAR
1914-1918

MALVERN AVENUE
COLLEGIATE INISTITUTE

[right/droite]

CHARLES SIMPSON LENNOX
CHARLES WILLIAM MABBOTT
HARVEY GEORGE MANSFIELD
CHARLES PERCY MAY
ROBERT FOUNTAIN MACLUCKIE
DONOVAN LAURIER SISLEY
ARTHUR JACKSON SMITH SISLEY
HAROLD WILSON SPENCE M.M.
JOSEPH ROLLIT TAYLOR
JOHN ARCHIBALD TREBILCOCK M.C.
ASLEY JOSEPH TREBILCOCK
MURRAY WATSON

De 1914 à l’automne 1918, des élèves du collège Malvern se sont portés volontaires pour mettre fin au carnage causé par la guerre qui allait se révéler la plus terrible et la plus catastrophique de l’histoire de notre pays. Ces étudiants ont participé à toutes les opérations du Corps d’armée canadien tout au long de l’histoire courte, mais violente de leur unité. Au total, 25 jeunes de Malvern ont fait le sacrifice suprême et reposent en sol européen. Le 19 mai 1922, après bien des efforts et des activités de financement, la communauté de l’endroit a inauguré un monument érigé à la mémoire de ces étudiants de Malvern, avec l’aide du ministère des Affaires des anciens combattants. Une foule nombreuse était réunie pour l’occasion afin de célébrer la vie de ces étudiants qui s’étaient volontiers sacrifiés pour leur pays. Le monument qu’on voit ici a été sculpté par Emmanuel Hahn et porte sur le côté les noms de tous les étudiants tués. Le personnage qui orne le monument représente nul autre que le Torontois Ned Hanlin. Il tient dans une main un sabre abaissé, qui symbolise la fin du conflit, et dans l’autre des chaînes brisées représentant la liberté. Emmanuel Hahn est probablement célèbre surtout pour avoir conçu le dessin du Bluenose, à l’endos de la pièce canadienne de 10 cents, et celui du caribou, à l’endos de la pièce de 25 cents. Il est également connu à cause du racisme et des préjugés anti-allemands dont il a été victime dans les années qui ont suivi la Grande Guerre. En 1925, la Ville de Winnipeg a organisé un concours en vue de la conception et de la construction d’un monument commémorant le conflit. C’est le dessin d’Emmanuel Hahn qui avait été retenu au départ. Cependant, plusieurs groupes de citoyens en vue de Winnipeg, dont la chambre de commerce, le chapitre provincial de l’I.O.D.E., la Travellers’ Association et les associations de soldats de retour du front, ont protesté avec véhémence contre le choix de M. Hahn en raison de son lieu de naissance. Emmanuel Hahn, arrivé au Canada en 1892 à l’âge de sept ans, avait obtenu la citoyenneté canadienne, mais il était né en Allemagne. Le 25 février 1926, au cours d’une réunion au sujet du monument, il a été décidé que M. Hahn recevrait les 500 dollars prévus pour le dessin primé et que le concours serait rouvert, uniquement pour les personnes nées en Grande-Bretagne ou dans les pays alliés aux Britanniques pendant la guerre. Le deuxième concours a été remporté par une sculptrice de Toronto, Elizabeth Wood. Elle était née au Canada, mais, malheureusement, elle était la femme d’Emmanuel Hahn. En novembre 1927, les citoyens ont rejeté la décision des juges parce que le projet « ne leur plaisait pas ». Mme Hahn a touché ses 500 dollars, et un artiste de Winnipeg a été choisi. Telle était l’hystérie qui régnait à l’époque. Il y a plusieurs années, des vandales ont endommagé le monument et cassé le bras du personnage qui y figure. Comme il est exposé depuis longtemps aux intempéries, le monument risque fort de se désintégrer complètement.

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