Manning Depot Memorial Plaque

 

Location: Coliseum, CNE grounds

Date photo taken: 16 August 2025

If you're visiting the CNE grounds you have to wander a little off the beaten track to find this plaque. It's located in the Coliseum building, near the offices of the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. It hangs there because during World War II, much of the CNE grounds were given over to the war effort and this building in particular was used by the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Manning Depot. 

This plaque reminds us of this history, and thanks to efforts to collect oral histories and reminiscences there are some snippets online that illuminate life at Manning Depot. One man remembers being assigned to help clear out the stalls to prepare them for the new arrivals - prior to the RCAF coming in, the building was used for cattle and horse shows. Another man recalls that recruits were bunked four to a stall and that many of the city boys found the accommodations more aromatic than they were used to. 

Text of the plaque:

In honour of one hundred & thirty nine thousand seven hundred & fifty two members of The Royal Canadian Air Force who passed through Number 1 Manning Depot R.C.A.F. during the war 1939-1945.

Erected by the Officers.

75th Canadian Infantry Battalion Memorial

 

Location: 70 Birmingham Street
Date photo taken: 5 September 2021

Walking along Birmingham Street in the New Toronto area of Etobicoke, I was surprised to encounter a World War II era vehicle parked next to a winding path. When I went for a closer look, I noticed that the building behind the carrier had a plaque affixed to an exterior wall. It turns out the building is the home of the Toronto Scottish Regiment, a Primary Reserve infantry regiment, which means that it's part of the Canadian Armed Forces but members serve mostly part-time while holding regular civilian jobs. The plaque is dedicated to members of the 75th Battalion, a predecessor of the Toronto Scottish Regiment. The 75th Battalion was formed during World War I and during the course of the war, over 5,500 soldiers served in its ranks. It was awarded 16 Battle Honours and one member, Captain Bellenden Hutcheson, a Medical Officer, was awarded the Victoria Cross. The home of the Regiment now bears his name. 

Text on the plaque:

France      Belgium
1916    1917    1918

To honour the memory of one thousand and eighty two officers, N.C.O.s and men of the Seventy-Fifth Canadian Infantry Battalion B E F [British Expeditionary Force] who gave their lives in the Great War. 

The 75th Overseas Battalion is perpetuated in the Canadian Militia as The Toronto Scottish Regiment. 

First World War uniform

 

Location: 426 University Avenue

Date photo taken: 8 November 2018

Did you know that Toronto has literally dozens of museums? As today is International Museum Day, I thought I'd feature an exhibit from one that is perhaps lesser known. This is an Artillery Dress Uniform on display at the Royal Canadian Military Institute Museum (RCMI) on University Avenue. RCMI is an independent member-supported organization but their museum is open to the public, by donation, and tours can be arranged on request. Their collection has over 12,000 artifacts and archival materials, including the seat from World War I flying ace Baron von Richthofen's plane, making it one of the largest museums of military history in Canada. 

Town of York Cenotaph

Location: Eglinton Avenue West, near Keele

Date photo taken: 14 October 2022

Located at the York Civic Centre, this cenotaph pays tribute to the men and women from the Town of York who gave their lives in the service of their country in the First and Second World Wars. It also, unlike many of the memorials in the city, includes the Korean War. While overshadowed in our collective consciousness by the wars proceeding it, it's important to remember that more than 26,000 Canadians served during this conflict. 

CPR Memorial Tablet

Location: Union Station

Date photo taken: 11 November 2020

During the First World War more than 11,000 employees of the Canadian Pacific Railway enlisted in the war effort. Of those, 1,116 gave their lives. This large bronze plaque is one of 23 identical memorials created by the Canadian Pacific Railway to honour their sacrifice. It was designed by Archibald Pearce of the company’s Engineering Department and features the following inscription:

This tablet commemorates those in the service of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company who at the call of King and Country left all that was dear to them, endured hardship, faced danger and finally passed out of sight of men by the path of duty and self sacrifice, giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that their names be not forgotten.

The names of the fallen, wounded and missing were not memorialized in bronze, but they were recorded in the pages of Canadian Railway and Marine World. 

Weston Cenotaph

Location: Little Avenue Memorial Park, Little Avenue near Weston Road
Date photo taken: 22 May 2015

This memorial sits in a pretty little park just off the Humber River valley in the community of Weston. Unveiled in October 1950, it replaced an earlier monument which had fallen into disrepair. Elements from the initial cairn were salvaged and incorporated into the new cenotaph, including stones, the bronze sword, and the original World War 1 plaque. An alteration was subsequently made to add a third plaque, reading simply PEACEKEEPING. 

Text from the plaques:

1914 1918

In memory of those of Weston who made the supreme sacrifice

and in honour of those who served in the great war.

1939  1945

To the glory of God in honour of those who served and to the

glorious memory of those who died in the Second World War

Queen's Own Rifles Memorial

Location: In front of St. Paul's Anglican on Bloor, east of Church

Date photo taken: 6 January 2019

This Cross of Sacrifice is dedicated to the honoured dead of the Queen's Own Rifles. It is made of granite and sits atop an octagonal base on which are inscribed the various battles in which the regiment has taken part. While the initial plan was to erect this monument in Queen's Park, the decision was ultimately made to place it in the church yard of St. Paul's Anglican, which is the Rifles' regimental church. Inside the church can be found another memorial to the regiment. A glass-topped bronze casket contains a Book of Remembrance, which includes the names of all Queen's Own Riflemen who have died while on active service. Entries stretch from the Fenian Raid in 1866 to the Korean War in 1955.

Queen's Own Rifles at St. Paul's

Location: In front of St. Paul's Anglican on Bloor, east of Church

Date photo taken: 6 January 2019

St. Paul's Anglican on Bloor is the regimental church of the Queen's Own Rifles, Canada's oldest continuously serving infantry regiment. It explains why the fence surrounding the church yard bears their cap badge. It might also explain why Cody Hall, built on the property in the 1920s, included a rifle range in the basement along with the gym and bowling alley.

Formed in 1860, the Queen's Own Rifles have taken part in every Canadian military campaign. The two on their badge is a nod to the original designation of the regiment - the 2nd Battalion, Volunteer Militia Rifles of Canada - and their motto, In pace paratus means "Prepared in Peace". 

According to a nearby plaque, the fence was erected by the Queen's Own Rifles and the wife of Colonel Charles Osborne Dalton, DSO, KStJ, ED, as a memorial to those who served the regiment from the parish of St. Paul. It was dedicated April 26, 1989.