Window for the fallen; Window for the living
In 1910, St. Paul’s became the regimental church for Queens Own Rifles of Canada, a regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces. Outside of St. Paul’s stands the Cross of Sacrifice, built after the First World War to commemorate members of QOR who have died in combat.
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St. Paul’s Church in Toronto has more than 30 separate memorials from the First World War, including windows, chancel screens, tablets, panels, and artifacts. Virtually every able-bodied man of military age had enlisted by the time the war ended. Of the more than 500 men and seven female Nursing Sisters who served from St. Paul’s during the Great War, 76 died. Even while the war was grinding on, memorial services for the dead were being held, plaques were being mounted on the church’s walls and stained-glass memorial windows, known as The window for the fallen and window for the living were being planned.
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The names and dates of death were printed in the order of service for the unveiling of the grand stained-glass windows above the altar by governor general Lord Byng of Vimy in 1921. A year after unveiling the windows above the altar, governor general Lord Byng returned to St. Paul’s to dedicate yet another window to the fallen. It looks like a regular stained-glass window but actually includes around 700 pieces of glass from 70 destroyed or damaged churches or buildings in the war zones of France, Belgium and Italy. The pieces were found on the ground among the ruins by a congregant, Brig.-Gen. Charles Mitchell, who, as a senior intelligence offïcer, was able to move around behind the lines.
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Today, there are few blank spaces left on the walls, or clear glass windows. The sheer volume of remembrance (three sets of stained-glass windows and two memorials for communal recognition, as well as family-ordered plaques and windows) bears homage to the toll inflicted on the congregation: everyone would have known someone who died, and they were determined to honour their memories in a manner befi?ting of the era.
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On Remembrance Sunday, the boots of the riflemen of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada echo through the silent church as they parade their regiment’s Book of Remembrance to the altar, where it will lie during the service. During the prayers, the names of all 76 of St. Paul’s dead will be read out loud. They may have died long ago on battlefields and trenches far from Canada, but they are not forgotten.
_x000D_
On the ornate alabaster screen behind the altar, the names of the dead are carved by year of death. The big memorial at the other end of the church, alphabetically lists all those who served, the dead marked by small red crosses.
Window for the fallen; Window for the living
In 1910, St. Paul’s became the regimental church for Queens Own Rifles of Canada, a regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces. Outside of St. Paul’s stands the Cross of Sacrifice, built after the First World War to commemorate members of QOR who have died in combat.
_x000D_
St. Paul’s Church in Toronto has more than 30 separate memorials from the First World War, including windows, chancel screens, tablets, panels, and artifacts. Virtually every able-bodied man of military age had enlisted by the time the war ended. Of the more than 500 men and seven female Nursing Sisters who served from St. Paul’s during the Great War, 76 died. Even while the war was grinding on, memorial services for the dead were being held, plaques were being mounted on the church’s walls and stained-glass memorial windows, known as The window for the fallen and window for the living were being planned.
_x000D_
The names and dates of death were printed in the order of service for the unveiling of the grand stained-glass windows above the altar by governor general Lord Byng of Vimy in 1921. A year after unveiling the windows above the altar, governor general Lord Byng returned to St. Paul’s to dedicate yet another window to the fallen. It looks like a regular stained-glass window but actually includes around 700 pieces of glass from 70 destroyed or damaged churches or buildings in the war zones of France, Belgium and Italy. The pieces were found on the ground among the ruins by a congregant, Brig.-Gen. Charles Mitchell, who, as a senior intelligence offïcer, was able to move around behind the lines.
_x000D_
Today, there are few blank spaces left on the walls, or clear glass windows. The sheer volume of remembrance (three sets of stained-glass windows and two memorials for communal recognition, as well as family-ordered plaques and windows) bears homage to the toll inflicted on the congregation: everyone would have known someone who died, and they were determined to honour their memories in a manner befi?ting of the era.
_x000D_
On Remembrance Sunday, the boots of the riflemen of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada echo through the silent church as they parade their regiment’s Book of Remembrance to the altar, where it will lie during the service. During the prayers, the names of all 76 of St. Paul’s dead will be read out loud. They may have died long ago on battlefields and trenches far from Canada, but they are not forgotten.
_x000D_
On the ornate alabaster screen behind the altar, the names of the dead are carved by year of death. The big memorial at the other end of the church, alphabetically lists all those who served, the dead marked by small red crosses.