HONOURING THOSE WHO SERVED is a project of the Maple Ridge Family History Group building on two decades of research conducted by local historian Annette Fulford. Our goal was to discover the stories of the people named on the First World War face of the Maple Ridge Cenotaph and other memorials throughout Maple Ridge, British Columbia.
On May 23, 1923 almost 1,000 citizens of Maple Ridge assembled to witness the unveiling of the Cenotaph at the entrance of the cemetery. The over four metre high, light grey granite was provided by Nelson Island for the Celtic Cross. Art Monument Co. of Vancouver executed the memorial, designed by Captain Thornton Sharp. Four large boulders were placed on the corners with the name and date of key battles from the First World War: Ypres 1915; Somme 1916; Vimy Ridge 1917; and Amiens 1918. The Cenotaph is only one of many memorials throughout Maple Ridge.
“In loving and grateful regard I now unveil this monument to the heroes of Maple Ridge who died that their fellow citizens might live.”
Bishop de Pencier, reported in the Gazette, May 31, 1923, page 1.
