The
Essex County War Memorial, or Cenotaph as it is also known, is a
fitting tribute to the men of Essex County who laid down their lives
in the Great War of 1914-1918. Tribute references to World War II
(1939-1945) and the Korean War (1950-1953) have been appropriately
added. Through my efforts, a commemorative plaque was placed at
the City Hall site in 1988.
Rising
a height of 20 feet, it was constructed of Canadian pink granite,
based on a design by Windsor architect George Y. Masson. The cost
was approximately $25,000, the nucleus of $5,000 raised by the Ladies
Auxiliary of the G.W.V.A. (Great War Veterans Association).
Originally
located on the boulevard of Giles East, facing Ouellette Ave., Eleanor
Barrett turned the first sod on July 2, 1924 and it was unveiled
on Armistice Day, of the same year, by Lieutenant General Sir Archibald
Cameron Macdonell (1864-1941). He was a highly decorated solider
of the Great War, and the son of Windsor's first mayor, Samuel Smith
Macdonell.
In
1965 the 106-ton structure was dismantled stone by stone - some
weighing 4,300 pounds and reassembled at its present City Hall location.
It was re-dedicated on Nov. 11, 1965 by the Royal Canadian Legion.
