Unveiled April 9, 2011 Opened 9 April 2011 | Total commemorated Approximately 3,000 | |
Location near Calgary, Alberta, Canada Designed by Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative | ||
The Calgary Soldiers' Memorial is a war monument in Calgary, Alberta that was dedicated on April 9, 2011, the anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The monument is dedicated to Calgary area soldiers who have given their lives in war and military service overseas. The monument is located on Memorial Drive.
Contents
Concept
The Calgary Soldiers' Memorial consists of several stone tablets bearing the names of soldiers from Calgary area regiments killed during times of war. These regiments include, in order of precedence, The King's Own Calgary Regiment, 41 Combat Engineer Regiment, 746 (Calgary) Communications Squadron, The Calgary Highlanders, 14 (Calgary) Service Battalion and 15 Field Ambulance. Also represented on the tablets are those units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force perpetuated by the current Calgary units of the Canadian Forces, including the 10th Battalion, CEF and 50th Battalion, CEF.
History
The memorial was originally conceived as one of several centennial projects during the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Calgary Highlanders. The City of Calgary joined in the planning, adapting the design into its own renovations of Memorial Drive.
A ceremonial groundbreaking took place on March 8, 2010, after which construction was begun.
Construction
The final design of the memorial was created by the Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative, and integrated into the City of Calgary's "Memorial Drive - Landscape of Memory" project, which had begun in 2004 as a revitalization of nine kilometres of Memorial Drive. The location is also significant and features into the design, looking towards Mewata Armoury, a "mustering point from which many Canadian soldiers departed to serve their country."