"Their Name Liveth For Evermore" - The Palmerston Soldiers Memorial
The construction of monuments across Canada happened rapidly after the Treaty of Versailles. Many communities raised the funds to have some form of commemoration as quickly as possible. Most were modest cairns or plaques; some were buildings, and some large elaborate sculptures designed by renowned artists. By the early 1930's virtually every community affected by the Great War had some form of commemorative memorial.
The citizens of Palmerston prided themselves on being staunchly loyal to the British Crown, and were quick to rise to the call of 'For King and Country'. Even during the Boer War some merchants had commemorative coins struck to celebrate the end of the fighting. A few years later in 1910 a memorial plaque was erected in the library dedicated to Arthur Leith Ross a Palmerston native who trained at the Royal Military College, and served in South Africa and Northern Nigeria with the Western African Frontier Force. He died of Blackwater Fever while serving on August 26th, 1908. An identical plaque is on display in the Singleton War Memorial in Sussex England, the home of Ross’s wife.
With the outbreak of what became the Great War, the men and women of Palmerston quickly answered the call. During the next four years approximately 169 Palmerston residents joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force; and another 232 men and women with a connection to Palmerston (born in, worked in etc.) enlisted.
Records are limited, but a few small pieces remain from newspapers and a handful of Town Council minutes. The sentiment of the townspeople was perfectly summed up in the council minutes of April 9th, 1917:
“...Citizens now assembled to bid good-bye to those of our men who have enlisted in the 153rd Wellington Battalion shortly to leave for overseas service in defence of our Empire and her principles of justice to all mankind we desire to place on record our heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to these men and those now in Britain and at the battle front and to those who have given their lives of whose names have appeared in the casualty lists (all of whom having sacrificed positions and home life for true patriotism and for us).”
It's difficult to pinpoint when the community began its work towards a memorial, but the safest assumption is that it started in September 1915. Palmerston was one of the first in Southern Ontario to erect a monument.
By the summer of 1915 three Palmerston boys had lost their lives on the battlefield: Milton McCaughrin, Graham Matthews and Hugh Wilford. Wilford was a well liked Locomotive Engineer for the Grand Trunk Railway. He enlisted on September 20th, 1914, only a month after marrying Annie Smith of Southampton. Wilford went through a very hasty training and was sent overseas on October 3rd. Less than a year later, on July 26th, 1915 while in action in Flanders, he was injured by a piece of shrapnel to the head. By August 9th Wilford had succumbed to his injuries and died at the Royal Victoria Hospital in England.
On the 11th of August he was buried at the Military Cemetery in Netly, Hampshire. A month later, by order of his family with the assistance of Palmerston Mayor Seth Mathers, his body was exhumed and prepared for return to Canada. Wilford was transported under continuous escort from members of his battalion. On September 28th the body arrived in Palmerston where it sat in waiting at the family home. September 30th, under the escort of 160 men of the 34th Battalion and a full military band under the command of a Major Fletcher, the white oak casket draped in the Union Jack was taken to the Palmerston Skating Rink. The Globe described "beautiful wreaths from the G.T.R. and other organizations decked the platform while upon the casket laid the soldier's cap and belt.”
Thousands are said to have attended the jointly conducted service. The Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Salvation Army ministers along with all four of the church choirs plus the military and community bands paid their respects. Following the service the procession to the Palmerston cemetery was described as being over a mile long. At the grave site the traditional three rifle volleys echoed throughout the countryside and the last bugle call closed the service.
The sheer impact of the funeral for Private Wilford sent huge ripples through the community. While it was commonplace for bodies of fallen soldiers to be repatriated to Canada, this was the first for a citizen of Wellington County. It seems quite fitting that the townspeople would immediately discuss some way to commemorate fallen soldiers after experiencing what must have been a very moving and emotional ceremony.
In May of 1919 the Fergus News-Record reported that "Palmerston is one Ontario town that has arrived at a decision as to what form the memorial to its fallen soldiers shall take." The detailed description of how the monument would look makes it quite obvious the Palmerston War Memorial Committee was well into its planning and organization by this point.
Under the leadership of J.B. Skelton, a prominent local businessman, the War Memorial Committee began fundraising along with planning not only a monument listing the fallen, but also two marble/bronze tablets which would list all the Palmerston men and women who served.
By December 1919, a memorial consisting of a three-piece granite base, with an imported Italian marble carving of a soldier standing at ease, had been erected on the grounds beside the Carnegie Library. The official unveiling took place the following spring. At the same time two captured German machine guns were unveiled as War Trophies in front of the library.
Unfortunately, the marble tablets did not come to fruition due to costs; and the machine guns were removed from their pedestals and contributed to metal drives during the Second World War.
Like any large project there was controversy. Some people found the soldier to be too “American” in his uniform while others felt he should be standing proudly at attention to show respect.
To a researcher the Palmerston Cenotaph offers a few mysteries. Records are limited so the criteria for name engraving is not known. From the newspaper articles still available it is assumed that the criteria was to be a person from the community who had given his/her life in the line of duty. But this does not seem to be the case.
Of the 33 names listed from the First World War, only 27 have been confirmed as killed in action. Of the six remaining five lived long after the war, and one has no record of even existing. There are four names that are confirmed to have died in the war, but had no known connection with Palmerston (it is possible they may have worked there: Almer Deaton of Gowanstown; Frederic Brittain of Fordwich; Walter Lovett of Lucknow; and Horace Parker of Walkerton). Two names are misspelled (Charles Branchfield spelled as "Blanchfield", and Robert Moorhead spelled as "Moorehead"). William and his brother Robert are both listed on the cenotaph, yet their other three brothers who also served are not - all five survived. Robert's obituary in 1946 described him as a major supporter for the erection of the cenotaph after returning home from overseas in 1919.
It's difficult to surmise exactly why the names on the Palmerston Cenotaph are so inconsistent. Some of the men from out of town may have been employed with the railway and had been popular enough to warrant their names being engraved. One name appears to have never lived in Palmerston but his parents moved to the town during the war and asked for his name to be included.
I often wonder if fundraising was more of a challenge than expected. The community had suffered a long and difficult war and money was not readily available. Perhaps exceptions were made for those who could contribute to have a loved one's name memorialized despite not losing his life. Perhaps with Palmerston being an early starter with this memorial project it allowed families from other communities to have their sons names added. We may never know.
In the end Palmerston has a proud tradition of honouring its soldiers. Along with the Cenotaph which features another eight names from the Second World War and one from the Korean War, the town also has Rolls of Honour in the Anglican, United and Presbyterian Churches, one for the Grand Trunk Railway, and Memorial Light Posts in front of the CNRA Clubhouse. The Frank Lambier Legion, which opened in 1946, stands as a memorial to all those who served for Canada and is named for Palmerston's most decorated soldier from the Great War.
It is safe to assume these proud traditions of commemoration will continue in the community, and hopefully no names will ever be added again.
The construction of monuments across Canada happened rapidly after the Treaty of Versailles. Many communities raised the funds to have some form of commemoration as quickly as possible. Most were modest cairns or plaques; some were buildings, and some large elaborate sculptures designed by renowned artists. By the early 1930's virtually every community affected by the Great War had some form of commemorative memorial.
The citizens of Palmerston prided themselves on being staunchly loyal to the British Crown, and were quick to rise to the call of 'For King and Country'. Even during the Boer War some merchants had commemorative coins struck to celebrate the end of the fighting. A few years later in 1910 a memorial plaque was erected in the library dedicated to Arthur Leith Ross a Palmerston native who trained at the Royal Military College, and served in South Africa and Northern Nigeria with the Western African Frontier Force. He died of Blackwater Fever while serving on August 26th, 1908. An identical plaque is on display in the Singleton War Memorial in Sussex England, the home of Ross’s wife.
With the outbreak of what became the Great War, the men and women of Palmerston quickly answered the call. During the next four years approximately 169 Palmerston residents joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force; and another 232 men and women with a connection to Palmerston (born in, worked in etc.) enlisted.
Records are limited, but a few small pieces remain from newspapers and a handful of Town Council minutes. The sentiment of the townspeople was perfectly summed up in the council minutes of April 9th, 1917:
“...Citizens now assembled to bid good-bye to those of our men who have enlisted in the 153rd Wellington Battalion shortly to leave for overseas service in defence of our Empire and her principles of justice to all mankind we desire to place on record our heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to these men and those now in Britain and at the battle front and to those who have given their lives of whose names have appeared in the casualty lists (all of whom having sacrificed positions and home life for true patriotism and for us).”
It's difficult to pinpoint when the community began its work towards a memorial, but the safest assumption is that it started in September 1915. Palmerston was one of the first in Southern Ontario to erect a monument.
By the summer of 1915 three Palmerston boys had lost their lives on the battlefield: Milton McCaughrin, Graham Matthews and Hugh Wilford. Wilford was a well liked Locomotive Engineer for the Grand Trunk Railway. He enlisted on September 20th, 1914, only a month after marrying Annie Smith of Southampton. Wilford went through a very hasty training and was sent overseas on October 3rd. Less than a year later, on July 26th, 1915 while in action in Flanders, he was injured by a piece of shrapnel to the head. By August 9th Wilford had succumbed to his injuries and died at the Royal Victoria Hospital in England.
On the 11th of August he was buried at the Military Cemetery in Netly, Hampshire. A month later, by order of his family with the assistance of Palmerston Mayor Seth Mathers, his body was exhumed and prepared for return to Canada. Wilford was transported under continuous escort from members of his battalion. On September 28th the body arrived in Palmerston where it sat in waiting at the family home. September 30th, under the escort of 160 men of the 34th Battalion and a full military band under the command of a Major Fletcher, the white oak casket draped in the Union Jack was taken to the Palmerston Skating Rink. The Globe described "beautiful wreaths from the G.T.R. and other organizations decked the platform while upon the casket laid the soldier's cap and belt.”
Thousands are said to have attended the jointly conducted service. The Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist and Salvation Army ministers along with all four of the church choirs plus the military and community bands paid their respects. Following the service the procession to the Palmerston cemetery was described as being over a mile long. At the grave site the traditional three rifle volleys echoed throughout the countryside and the last bugle call closed the service.
The sheer impact of the funeral for Private Wilford sent huge ripples through the community. While it was commonplace for bodies of fallen soldiers to be repatriated to Canada, this was the first for a citizen of Wellington County. It seems quite fitting that the townspeople would immediately discuss some way to commemorate fallen soldiers after experiencing what must have been a very moving and emotional ceremony.
In May of 1919 the Fergus News-Record reported that "Palmerston is one Ontario town that has arrived at a decision as to what form the memorial to its fallen soldiers shall take." The detailed description of how the monument would look makes it quite obvious the Palmerston War Memorial Committee was well into its planning and organization by this point.
Under the leadership of J.B. Skelton, a prominent local businessman, the War Memorial Committee began fundraising along with planning not only a monument listing the fallen, but also two marble/bronze tablets which would list all the Palmerston men and women who served.
By December 1919, a memorial consisting of a three-piece granite base, with an imported Italian marble carving of a soldier standing at ease, had been erected on the grounds beside the Carnegie Library. The official unveiling took place the following spring. At the same time two captured German machine guns were unveiled as War Trophies in front of the library.
Unfortunately, the marble tablets did not come to fruition due to costs; and the machine guns were removed from their pedestals and contributed to metal drives during the Second World War.
Like any large project there was controversy. Some people found the soldier to be too “American” in his uniform while others felt he should be standing proudly at attention to show respect.
To a researcher the Palmerston Cenotaph offers a few mysteries. Records are limited so the criteria for name engraving is not known. From the newspaper articles still available it is assumed that the criteria was to be a person from the community who had given his/her life in the line of duty. But this does not seem to be the case.
Of the 33 names listed from the First World War, only 27 have been confirmed as killed in action. Of the six remaining five lived long after the war, and one has no record of even existing. There are four names that are confirmed to have died in the war, but had no known connection with Palmerston (it is possible they may have worked there: Almer Deaton of Gowanstown; Frederic Brittain of Fordwich; Walter Lovett of Lucknow; and Horace Parker of Walkerton). Two names are misspelled (Charles Branchfield spelled as "Blanchfield", and Robert Moorhead spelled as "Moorehead"). William and his brother Robert are both listed on the cenotaph, yet their other three brothers who also served are not - all five survived. Robert's obituary in 1946 described him as a major supporter for the erection of the cenotaph after returning home from overseas in 1919.
It's difficult to surmise exactly why the names on the Palmerston Cenotaph are so inconsistent. Some of the men from out of town may have been employed with the railway and had been popular enough to warrant their names being engraved. One name appears to have never lived in Palmerston but his parents moved to the town during the war and asked for his name to be included.
I often wonder if fundraising was more of a challenge than expected. The community had suffered a long and difficult war and money was not readily available. Perhaps exceptions were made for those who could contribute to have a loved one's name memorialized despite not losing his life. Perhaps with Palmerston being an early starter with this memorial project it allowed families from other communities to have their sons names added. We may never know.
In the end Palmerston has a proud tradition of honouring its soldiers. Along with the Cenotaph which features another eight names from the Second World War and one from the Korean War, the town also has Rolls of Honour in the Anglican, United and Presbyterian Churches, one for the Grand Trunk Railway, and Memorial Light Posts in front of the CNRA Clubhouse. The Frank Lambier Legion, which opened in 1946, stands as a memorial to all those who served for Canada and is named for Palmerston's most decorated soldier from the Great War.
It is safe to assume these proud traditions of commemoration will continue in the community, and hopefully no names will ever be added again.