Take a walk in Bruce Park and learn the history of the park’s landmarks.

A cenotaph was erected in 1936 to honor the soldiers who died in WW1. This monument stood for more than 50 years until frost damage destroyed it in the 1980’s. In 1990, the original cenotaph was replaced with a replica that commemorates the veterans of the major wars. This change was at the initiative of the St. James Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion #4. In 2005, students from St. James High School painted the monument.

The Cenotaph was especially important to former St. James mayor Alfred Hanks, because he was  one of the many who returned to St. James after WW1. Mr. Hanks acted as the chair in the cenotaph design and construction committee. He also guided the design and placement of the Cenotaph.

The Cenotaph is an important monument in St. James, because the former city offered the largest per capita number of volunteers to the two World Wars (provincially). Many of these volunteers were first and second generation immigrants from the U.K. Veterans of the wars used to march to the Cenotaph on each Remembrance Day. The St. James Legion continues the tradition.