August 2024
In the immediate years after the First World War, cenotaphs and monuments were built across Canada to honour and memorialize those who died during the war. One of the most prominent memorial towers in Canada is the Peace Tower, built as a part of the Centre Block of Canada’s Parliament building, and completed in 1927.
The University of Toronto built their own memorial tower, starting with the laying of the cornerstone in 1919 by then-Governor General Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire. The stone Gothic Revival tower, standing 143 feet, with an archway at the base, topped with a clock and a carillon of 51 bells, was completed in 1924, with funds raised by university alumni.
When first dedicated, the carillon originally had 23 bells. An additional 19 bells were added in 1952 to commemorate World War II. A further 28 bells were added in 1976.
The names of the 628 students, staff and faculty who were lost in the Great War are etched on a sheltered stone screen in the west arcade adjacent to the tower’s base, while the inner walls of the tower’s stone archway are inscribed with the 557 names of those lost in World War II.
The Memorial Chamber, just above the arch at the base of the Tower, is a museum that showcases a collection of medals, memorial books, portraits, photographs, flags and miscellaneous memorabilia from the period. A powerful 12-panel stained-glass window includes a visual interpretation of the iconic wartime poem, In Flanders Fields, by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, along with 8 smaller stained-glass windows that depict men and women of the armed forces at wartime. Another stained glass window is dedicated to three University College students (Malcolm Mackenzie, I.H. Mewburn, and William Tempest) killed in the Fenian Raids.
Remembrance Day Ceremonies at the University of Toronto are held each November, with the laying wreaths at the foot of the Soldier’s Tower in honour of alumni who, as soldiers, made the ultimate sacrifice during World War I and World War II.
The First World War inscription on the memorial panels of Soldiers’ Tower is:
To the glorious memory
of members of this University
who fell in the Great War
1914–1918
Take these men for your ensamples
like them remember that prosperity can be only for the free
that freedom is the sure possession of those alone
who have the courage to defend it.
The Second World War inscription on the memorial panels is:
To the glorious memory of the members of this
University who fell in the Second World War
1939–1945
Their story is not graven only in stone over their
native earth, but lives on far away, without visible
symbol, woven into the stuff of other men’s lives.
An additional set of inscriptions on the First World War panels includes two biblical quotes in Ancient Greek and Latin, respectively:
apothanōn eti lalei
And so they passed over
and all the trumpets sounded for them
on the other side.
Iustorum animae in manu Dei
The first biblical quote is from Hebrews 11:4: “Though dead, he still speaks.” The second biblical quote is taken from Wisdom 3:1: “The souls of the just [are] in the hands of God.”
Reproduced is the poem: In Flanders Field. Among the list of the dead in WWI is the author John McCrae.
Sources: Soldiers’ Tower – Wikipedia, Features of Soldiers’ Tower | University of Toronto Alumni (utoronto.ca), Remembrance – Memorials in Canada | Canada and the First World War (warmuseum.ca).
