place

Ottawa Memorial

1959 sculpturesCanadian military memorials and cemeteriesMonuments and memorials in OttawaPortal templates with redlinked portalsWorld War II memorials in Canada
Ottawa Memorial Cropped
Ottawa Memorial Cropped

The Ottawa Memorial is a monument in Ottawa, Ontario, that "commemorates by name almost 800 men and women who lost their lives while serving or training with the Air Forces of the Commonwealth in Canada, the West Indies and the United States and who have no known grave. " Located on Sussex Drive overlooking the Ottawa River near the Rideau Falls, the monument was unveiled in 1959 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada. It is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. During the Second World War, 798 men and women killed with Commonwealth air forces in or over Canadian territory.The memorial lists the names, ranks and nations of origin of almost 800 service personnel, ordered by the year of their death, on two semi-circular walls that surround a small pool containing a sculpture of the world with an eagle perched on top. Plaques in English and French contain the following text: In the Second World War air power played an increasingly important role in offensive and defensive capacities.At the start of the war there was a shortage of aircraft and trained pilots. The United Kingdom was considered too vulnerable to attack and so training centres were established elsewhere. Bases in North America trained over 137,000 Commonwealth air crew, making a vital contribution to the Allied victory, while much needed aircraft and supplies were ferried to the United Kingdom from the United States and Canada by both civilian and air force personnel. This memorial, unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in 1959, commemorates by name almost 800 men and women who lost their lives while serving or training with the Air Forces of the Commonwealth in Canada, the West Indies and the United States and who have no known grave. Their names are arranged according to year of death, force and rank. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible for the maintenance of graves and memorials in some 150 countries which commemorate around 1,700,000 members of the Commonwealth forces who died in the two world wars. The war dead commemorated here and elsewhere include those of several different faiths and of none.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Ottawa Memorial (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Ottawa Memorial
Sussex Drive, Ottawa Lowertown (Rideau-Vanier)

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address External links Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Ottawa MemorialContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 45.440855555556 ° E -75.696083333333 °
placeShow on map

Address

Sussex Drive
K1N 5A1 Ottawa, Lowertown (Rideau-Vanier)
Ontario, Canada
mapOpen on Google Maps

linkWikiData (Q2900578)
linkOpenStreetMap (2430311344)

Ottawa Memorial Cropped
Ottawa Memorial Cropped
Share experience

Nearby Places

High Commission of South Africa, Ottawa
High Commission of South Africa, Ottawa

The South African High Commission in Ottawa is the High Commission of South Africa in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 15 Sussex Drive in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa. Directly across the street from the embassy is 24 Sussex Drive the official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada. East of the High Commission is 7 Rideau Gate, Canada's official guest house for visiting dignitaries. Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General of Canada is also nearby at 1 Sussex Drive. The building was constructed for James Stevenson, the Bank of Montreal's representative in Ottawa, in 1841. In 1867 it was purchased by Moss Kent Dickinson an industrialist and mayor of Ottawa and then by the South African government in 1944. Throughout its history the building went through a number of renovations, two additions under the supervision of architect W.E. Noffke in 1920 and 1947 as well as a renovation by Peter John Stokes from 1964-1965.During the apartheid era the mission was the scene of frequent protests. Following South Africa's withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Nations in 1961, its status changed from High Commission to Embassy, and there was pressure within Canada to end diplomatic relations with the country. With the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth and in April the following year, the first black High Commissioner, Billy Modise, was appointed. A former leader of the African National Congress Youth Wing, Modise spent 31 years in exile after fleeing South Africa in 1960. The current High Commissioner is Rieaz Shaik.South Africa also has a Consulate General in Toronto.