English

The Oak Bay Cenotaph was constructed in 1948 on behalf of 97 young men and one woman from Oak Bay, who died in WWII. On Armistice Day, November 11th, 1948, the Cenotaph was unveiled by the Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable Charles H. Banks, C.M.G., and dedicated by the Venerable Archdeacon A deL. Nunns and the Reverend Dr. W.W. McPherson. A wall of concrete with granite finish frames a nine-foot tall statue of a woman, her eyes downcast upon the 97 names of Oak Bay’s war dead. The inscription reads: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Early in 1948, the Oak Bay Town Council decided that a suitable memorial be erected. A young former airman from Ontario, James Saull, had made his home in Victoria after the war. He had been a pupil of the well-known Toronto sculptor Emmanuel Hahn (Hahn sculpted the Bluenose schooner on our dime, the caribou on the quarter and the Indians in their canoe on the silver dollar), and the young man’s talent had become known locally. It took Saull about seven months to complete the nine-foot monument, for which his wife was the model. The monument is located in Uplands Park on a rock out-cropping, facing Beach Drive. Since the concrete monument had been built on a rock out-cropping, there wasn’t any problem with settlement but, over three and a half decade, it had been exposed to the extremes of weather. It was then that Mr. Saull was called upon by the Town Council to rebuild and repair the entire structure.

The work completed in time for the 2019 Remembrance Day service, which includes refurbishing the path and steps up to the cenotaph and also the stair railing, is the latest phase of work that was laid out in the 2016 strategic plan headed by Coun. Tara Ney and a small task force.

Inscription

[front/devant]

IN MEMORY OF OAK BAY CITIZENS WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE 1939-1945 WORLD WAR

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

plaque from left to right
Inscription

col 1
ION ACLAND

col 1
THOMAS AKAM

col 1
WILLIAM B. E. BAILEY

col 1
THOMAS M. BAKER

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NORMAN BEARD

col 1
MAURICE M. BEEDHAM

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PAMELA G. BENNETT

col 1
TED P. BOURQUE

col 1
RICHARD BRADBURY

col 1
GORDON BRADSHAW

col 1
HARRY J. BROOKS

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I. M. SUTHERLAND BROWN

col 1
LOUIS K. BROWN

col 1
WILLIAM BROWN

col 1
ROBERT E. BRUCE

col 1
JOHN S. BURD

col 1
FRED S. BUTTON

col 1
GEOFFREY BYATT

col 1
BRIAN W. CARMICHAEL

col 1
RICHARD R. T. CHRISTY

col 1
PATRICIA J. COONEY

col 1
GEORGE H. CORBETT

col 1
JAMES A. CORNWALL

col 1
GEORGE S. F. COULSON

col 2
REGINALD COVENTRY

col 2
ROBERT COVENTRY

col 2
EDWARD L. CURTIS

col 2
JOHN V. DAVEY

col 2
PERCIVAL F. M. DEFREITAS

col 2
J. HARRY DOE

col 2
WILLIAM J. DYSON

col 2
DOUGLAS R. ELEY

col 2
HENRY G. ELLIS

col 2
VIOLET FIELD

col 2
E. WILLIAM R. FORTT

col 2
ROBERT H. FRAME

col 2
GORDON FRASER

col 2
VERNON B. GILSON

col 2
JACK. A. GROGAN

col 2
FRED C. HARMAN

col 2
ARTHUR C. HARNESS

col 2
JAMES R. HARPER

col 2
DESMOND HIND

col 2
ROBERT HORSFIELD

col 2
RAYMOND H. HUNTER

col 2
NORA JOHNSON

col 2
VINCENT G. L. KNOX

col 2
JOHN LATTA

col 3
JAMES W. LAWRIE

col 3
WILLIAM H. LEESE

col 3
DOUGLAS M. LINDSAY

col 3
FRED I. MC DERMOTT

col 3
FRANCIS H. MC MULLIN

col 3
PHILIP G. C. MACNEILL

col 3
JAMES R. A. MACONACHIE

col 3
LEIGHTON MANNING

col 3
ROBERT S. MAY

col 3
HARRY E. MEYER

col 3
ALAN MAYHEW

col 3
E. W. T. MELLANDER

col 3
RICHARD C. MEREDITH

col 3
THOMAS W. MOORE

col 3
PETER PALIN

col 3
WILLIAM PALMER

col 3
GEORGE PARKER

col 3
ROY PATTINSON

col 3
CHARLES W. PEASLAND

col 3
WILLIAM E. PHILLIPS

col 3
TREVOR C. L. PIDCOCK

col 3
DANIEL MACF. REID

col 3
EDWARD G. ROBBINS

col 3
JAMES T. ROBSON

col 4
ARTHUR M. RYCROFT

col 4
KENNETH W. SCHARFF

col 4
ERNEST W. SCROGGS

col 4
ROBERT R. SHEARING

col 4
REGINALD A. SHEPHERD

col 4
JOHN SHEPHERD

col 4
JOHN L. SILLS

col 4
JOHN F. STEVENS

col 4
DOUGLAS B. STEWART

col 4
BOWES STONEY

col 4
JAMES SYME

col 4
MICHAEL B. SYMONS

col 4
SELBY F. TAYLOR

col 4
JACK TRACE

col 4
PAUL A. TRUDEL

col 4
LLOYD H. TULL

col 4
GRAHAM VERLEY

col 4
RAY WALLS

col 4
JOHN D. WARD

col 4
FRANK H. WHITING

col 4
EDWIN M. WILLIAMS

col 4
DONALD A. K. WILSON

col 4
MATTHEW WOOD

col 4
STANLEY E. WOOD

Français

Le cénotaphe d’Oak Bay a été construit en 1948 à la mémoire de 97 jeunes hommes et d’une femme d’Oak Bay, morts pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Le jour de l’Armistice, le 11 novembre 1948, le cénotaphe a été inauguré par le lieutenant-gouverneur, l’honorable Charles H. Banks, CMG, et consacré par le vénérable archidiacre A. de L. Nunns et le révérend Dr W.W. McPherson. Un mur de béton revêtu de granit encadre une statue de neuf pieds de haut représentant une femme qui, les yeux baissés, regarde les noms des 97 citoyens d’Oak Bay morts à la guerre. L’inscription se lit comme suit : « Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. » (Il n’y a pas de plus grand amour que de donner sa vie pour ses amis.) Au début de 1948, le conseil municipal d’Oak Bay a décidé d’ériger un mémorial approprié. Un ancien aviateur de l’Ontario, James Saull, s’était établi à Victoria après la guerre. Ce jeune homme de talent avait été l’élève d’un sculpteur réputé de Toronto, Emmanuel Hahn (qui a sculpté la goélette Bluenose sur notre pièce de 10 cents, le caribou sur notre pièce de 25 cents et les Indiens dans leur canot sur notre dollar en argent), et commençait à se faire connaître dans la région. Il lui a fallu environ sept mois pour réaliser le monument de neuf pieds, pour lequel sa femme a servi de modèle. Le monument de béton est situé dans le parc Uplands, face à la promenade Beach. Comme il a été érigé sur un gros rocher, il n’y a eu aucun problème de tassement du sol, mais il avait été exposé aux intempéries pendant plus de 35 ans. C’est pourquoi le conseil municipal a demandé à M. Saull de rebâtir et de réparer toute la structure.

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