The South African War Memorial is a memorial located at

University Avenue A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

and

Queen Street West Queen Street is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Roncesvalles Avenue and King Street in the west to Victoria Park Avenue in the east. Queen Street was the cartographic baseline for the original east-w ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, Canada. Commissioned in 1910, largely as the result of the efforts of

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

, and designed by

Walter Seymour Allward Walter Seymour Allward, (18 November 1874 – 24 April 1955) was a Canadian monumental sculptor best known for the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Featuring expressive classical figures within modern compositions, Allward's monuments evoke them ...

to commemorate

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's participation in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

, it consists of three bronze figures at the base of a granite column. Another bronze figure is found at the top of the memorial. It was restored in 2001. The

Ontario Heritage Foundation The Ontario Heritage Trust (french: link=no, Fiducie du patrimoine ontarien) is a non-profit agency of the Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is responsible for protecting, preserving and promoting the built, natural and cultural herita ...

plaque for this memorial erroneously states that Walter Allward studied under

Emanuel Hahn Emanuel Otto Hahn (30 May 1881 – 14 February 1957) was a German-born Canadian sculptor and coin designer. He taught and later married Elizabeth Wyn Wood. He co-founded and was the first president of the Sculptors' Society of Canada. Biograph ...

; in fact, it was the other way around. For two decades after the war, Canadians would gather on February 27 (known in Canada as " Paardeberg Day") around memorials to the South African War to say prayers and honour veterans. This continued until the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I a ...

(later called

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

) began to be observed on November 11. The monument was unveiled in 1910 by Sir John French. Image:South African War Memorial, Toronto (Fragment of the Top).jpg, Winged figure holding a golden crown at the top of the obelisk. Image:Monument-allward-toronto-africa.jpg, The base of Walter Seymour Allward's South African War Memorial in the winter. Image:1908 Toronto SouthAfrican War Memorial QueenSt.jpg, Unveiling of the memorial May 24, 1910.

References

South African War Memorial

Photographs
Sculptures by Walter Seymour Allward Monuments and memorials in Toronto Canadian military memorials and cemeteries Second Boer War memorials {{Toronto-stub

See also

References