(Excerpt from an article previously published in Tempo)
The main monument of the Knowlton Cenotaph, officially known as the County of Brome War Memorial, was created by Coeur de Lion MacCarthy, a sculptor who produced war memorials across Canada, including in Vancouver, Trois Rivières and the giant sculpture of the Angel of Victory in Montreal’s
Windsor Station.
The memorial is impressive for a town the size of Knowlton. The bronze statue, standing atop a granite stone base, shows a First World War Canadian soldier being guided by an angel.
In 1921, the Brome County Council chose to create one large memorial rather than smaller ones in each town. The county subscribed more money to their patriotic fund than any other individual county in Quebec. Every family was affected by the war. The names of 63 Brome County men who never returned home from the First World War are inscribed on the monument.
(Fifteen more lost in the Second World War are commemorated on a second monument.)
Draped with a large Union Jack flag, the monument was unveiled on Sept. 3, 1923 by Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Turner. There were speeches and soldiers on parade.
The band of the Grenadier Guards of Montreal played the hymn Nearer My God to Thee and ended off the
ceremony with the national anthem.
You must be logged in to post a comment.