Canada’s Response: The Making and Remaking of the National War Memorial by Malcolm Edward Osier Ferguson A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario ©2012, Malcolm Edward Osier Ferguson Library and Archives Bibliotheque et Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du 1+1Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-93554-5 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-93554-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distrbute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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Canada ABSTRACT In the years following the First World War, the Government of Canada erected a National War Memorial in the capital city of Ottawa. The monument was pre-eminently a commemoration of the service and sacrifices of Canada’s overseas armed forces, but it was also conceived and created as a national project with larger aims emphasising domestic unity and the country’s unique war experience, and presenting a positive and inspiring message to Canadians. The memorial, called The Response to capture Canada’s answer to the call to duty in 1914, was not unveiled until May 1939. After the Second World War, the role and meaning of the monument underwent a remaking. As a result of debates surrounding efforts aimed at another national commemorative war monument in the capital, it became apparent that the National War Memorial had come over the years to represent for Canadians not one war but all of their wars. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to begin by expressing my great appreciation for the assistance offered to me by my supervisor, Professor Norman Hillmer. In the writing of this thesis, his insight, guidance, and expertise have proven invaluable. Without him, this project might never have begun and certainly would not have developed into what it is today. It has been a privilege and an honour to have had him as an advisor, mentor, and a friend. Many thanks are owed to the members of my examination committee. Professors Tim Cook, Ruth Phillips, and Paul Litt each provided valuable insights that have presented me with a number of considerations for the expansion and development of my research. A great debt is also owed to the Graduate Administrator of the department of history, Joan White, whose tireless work behind the scenes, and willingness to answer the many questions I had along the way, made this process much easier. I would also like to thank my family for their love and support throughout this process. In particular, a great debt is owed to my father, whose expert editing skills were always available to me. His help over the years has shaped me into the writer that I am today. Finally, I would like to thank my wife Karolyn. Despite the many long nights working on this thesis, she was always there to provide love and encouragement, and to bring me late night coffees to keep me going. This work I dedicate to her. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract. .................................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgements............................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv The National War Memorial ................................................................................... v Introduction...........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 - 'The Spirit of the Nation': Finding a Representation of Canada's Great War Experience.......................................................................................................17 Chapter 2 — 'The Very Soul of the Nation is Here Revealed': The Making of the Canadian National War Memorial ............................................................................ 50 Chapter 3 - 'A Memorial to All Canadians': The National Shrine of Remembrance and the Remaking of the National War Memorial.............................. 87 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................120 Bibliography......................................................................................................................128 THE NATIONAL WAR MEMORIAL The National War Memorial, Ottawa (Photo: Malcolm Ferguson, September 15, 2012) INTRODUCTION In May 1923 Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King announced to the House of Commons that the Government of Canada would erect a monument in commemoration of the nation’s accomplishments and sacrifices during the Great War. Shortly thereafter, the government determined the form it wanted the memorial to take and those ideas it believed the monument should convey to Canadians. In 1925 a competition was held that was open to all British subjects, as well as citizens of the allied countries during the war.1 From the 127 submissions, the proposal by British sculptor Vemon March, titled The Response, was selected as the winning design because it most closely fulfilled the government’s original vision of the memorial. The Prime Minister agreed with the competition judges’ selection and wrote that, when the monument was completed, “the capital will, I think, have one of the finest war memorials in the world.”2 Alterations to the memorial’s design, the death of March, the economic depression of the 1930s, and debates surrounding the site for the memorial all delayed the completion of the monument. On May 21, 1939, The Response was officially unveiled by King George VI, only months before the outbreak of another world war. The monument was located in the newly constructed Confederation Square in Ottawa, and dedicated to the Canadian soldiers who fought, were wounded, and died during the conflict. In the decades that followed, the role and purpose of the memorial changed. The National War Memorial evolved to become more than a commemoration of a single conflict. Later efforts to develop additional national commemorations of war indicate that by the late 1 Library and Archives Canada [henceforth LAC], RG 25, vol. 337, “Conditions of Competition for National Commemorative War Monument,” 1925, 6. 2 LAC, RG 11, vol. 4004, William Lyon Mackenzie King [henceforth WLMK] to J.H. King, January 22, 1926. 2 1950s and early 1960s Canadians understood the memorial to remember the Canadians who served in all wars. To understand the origins of the National War Memorial, it is necessary to know the context in which the project emerged. Prior to the First World War, Canada had little experience with the creation of national war memorials.3 While there were many memorials erected to honour particular regiments and commanding officers, few monuments were dedicated to the actions of all participants in Canada’s wars. With the high death tolls and the creation of citizen rather than professional armies, the Great War led to a desire to create memorials that recognized the sacrifices of all those who lost their lives. The years following the First World War witnessed a number of commemorative initiatives undertaken across the country to honour the nearly 620,000 Canadian soldiers who enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and the country’s 60,000 war dead. The forms that these commemorations took varied significantly, indicative of individual communities’ preferred method of memorializing their dead. Commemorative plaques, monuments, memorial halls, the renaming of streets after European battlefields, and a host of other forms of commemoration were created throughout the country. The post First World War period was a time of unprecedented commemoration. Nearly every community felt it necessary to honour their veterans