War memorial in St. John's to undergo restoration, readied for unknown soldier

Work is about to begin on an important restoration project at the Newfoundland National War Memorial in St. John's, ahead of the memorial's 100th anniversary in 2024.

That means access to this solemn site will be off limits for months as the imposing downtown cenotaph is refurbished for the first time since the 1960s.

The project will include the return of the remains of a soldier most likely a member of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment next spring from a First World War cemetery in northern France, and the creation of a tomb of the unknown soldier.

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A contract award for the project is imminent, say provincial government officials, and construction fences will soon be erected around one of the province's best known sites of remembrance.

"It's on schedule. It's where we need it to be," said Steve Crocker, minister of tourism, culture, arts and recreation.

The project is years in the makingand is the resultof a partnership between the Royal Canadian Legion, who are the stewards of the memorial, and all three levels of government. The total cost of the restoration and tombhas not yet been released.

The official opening of the memorial on July 1, 1924, attracted an estimated 10,000 people, including Gen. Douglas Haig, who commanded the British expeditionary force during the First World War.

It's called a national memorial because Newfoundland was a self-governing Dominion until Confederation with Canada in 1949.

The legion plans to hold a centennial ceremony next summer that will rival the one held 100 years ago.

The ceremony will include the interring of the unknown soldier's remains. The unknown soldier will represent the service and sacrifice ofthose who have served in all branches of the military.

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"I'd like to respectfully challenge all Newfoundlanders and Labradoriansto have their holidays around this time and for the [expatriates]to come home, because you are going to be so proud when we [inter]the remains of that unknown soldier," said Gary Brown, legion spokesman.

The memorial was last restored prior to the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Beaumont-Hamel in 1966, and it's showing its age.

In the coming months, the granite monument will be restored, the concrete stairs, walkways, curbs and metal railings will be replaced, andnew and upgraded lighting will be installed.

But a tomb of the unknown soldier, made from granite by a Bishop's Falls company,will be the centrepiece of the restoration.

Browne said roughly1,700 people from Newfoundland and Labrador died in service during the First World War. Many of them fell at Beaumont-Hamel on July 1, 1916.

Of those who died, some 800 have no known grave.

A process is underway to select a grave in France from which to exhume an unknown soldier's remainsand bring them to St. John's next spring.

"I think it's going to be a very emotional day for a lot of people," Crocker said of the ceremonies planned for next year'sMemorial Day.

The tomb will be the second tomb of the unknown soldier in Canada, similar to the one in Ottawa.

The legion's N.L. Command lobbied for the creation of a tomb in St. John's because Newfoundland was not a Canadian province during the First World War, and there was a feeling that the tomb in Ottawa did not represent the Newfoundlanders who fought and died, largely under British command.

"This now gives us the opportunity to actually have a tomb that will truly represent the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and those that served," said Crocker.

The identity of the remains will never be known in order to ensure the soldier represents all branches of the military.

Browne is a historian who authored a book called Forget-Me-Not: Fallen Boy Soldiers. The book tells the story of the 272 teenagemembers of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment who died during the war. Of those, 114 have no known grave.

Browne said he'll always wonder if the unknown soldier is one of those boys.

The memorialwas designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2019. It's located not far from King's Beach, where a generation of soldiers left for war more than a century ago.

Next year, one of those fallen soldiers will come home, to represent all those who have served, and sacrificed.

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