The Essex County War Memorial

Large granite cenotaph.

City Hall Square

George Y. Masson
Essex County War Memorial, 1924, 1965
Granite, bronze, 915 x 740 x 800 centimetres (approximately)

The Essex County War Memorial Cenotaph was erected as a fitting tribute to those men of Essex County who laid down their lives in the Great War of 1914 to 1918. It was constructed of Canadian Pink Granite based on a design of George Y. Masson, a local architect. Rising to a height just over six metres, the central shaft bears on its eastern face an incised panel forming a cross which frames a gilded sword decoration, symbolizing the supreme sacrifice and its reward.

On the front faces of the ramp are narrow panels of carved maple leaf sprays, symbolic of Canada. The cenotaph was unveiled on Armistice Day, November 11, 1924, by Major-General later Lieutenant General Sir Archibald Cameron MacDonell (1864 to 1941), a Windsor native and one of the highest ranking and most decorated Canadian soldiers of World War I. The cost of the monument was approximately $25,000, the nucleus of $5,000 being raised by the Ladies Auxiliary of the G.W.V.A. with the assistance of various local organizations as well as donations from private individuals. The cenotaph was originally located at the intersection of Giles and Ouellette, facing Ouellette. The 106-ton structure was dismantled in 1965, stone by stone, some weighing 4,300 pounds, and reassembled at its present City Hall Square location like a huge jig-saw puzzle. It was rededicated on November 11, 1965, by the Royal Canadian Legion. Tribute references to World War II, 1939 to 1945, and the Korean War, 1950 to 1953, have been appropriately added to the original design.

Detail of a memorial bust of Albert Howard Weeks

Albert Howard Weeks

Pears and Leaves on Jesuit Pear Tree

Ancient Jesuit Pear Trees

Sundial atop a tall granite obelisk.

Astrolabium & Sun Dial of M. Kopernik

Detail of high relief bronze monument.

Boer War Monument

Map outline and inscription in stone

Bosnia & Herzegovina Memorial

Small, ground level, bronze plaque by a road in a park.

British-American Hotel Site Plaque

Detail of a memorial list etched into granite.

Canadian Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Bronze plaque mounted to masonry in a park.

Centennial of Confederation Plaque

Century Rock plaque in masonry setting

Century Rock

Peace Fountain at daytime, seen from the riverfront promenade

Charles Brooks Memorial Peace Fountain

Four fountain structures at City Hall Square

City Hall Square Fountains

Historic cannon in a park

Crimean War Cannon

Bronze scultpre of Detective Alton C. Parker and a child.

Detective Alton C. Parker

Detail of a bronze plaque.

Dieppe Gardens Plaque

Top of a decorative lamp post in a park.

Eternal Flame

Granite monument with carved figures.

Fight for the Living

Bronze plaque on a granite plinth in a park.

Fleming Channel Plaque

Bronze plaque mounted in masonry in a riverfront park.

Floral Compass

Detail of smiling face of the George Bergeron bronze sculpture

George Bergeron

Greening of the Riverfront

Porch fixture standing alone in a park.

Hiram Walker's Front Porch

Detail of map on granite

Holodomor Monument

International Waterway Marker

Detail of a concrete cross in a park

Jesuit Missionaries Cross

Windsor and Essex Korean Veterans War Memorial

Korean Veterans War Memorial

Masonic Memorial

Brick cenotaph with a bronze plaque in a park.

Memorial Cenotaph

Detail of a polished black granite monument.

Monument of Memories

Noon Mark

Detail of a black granite monument.

Peacekeepers - Afghanistan Monument

Granite monument for peace.

Pray for Peace

Queen Elizabeth II Dedicated Tree

Bronze fountain detail, lion head.

Queen Victoria Fountain

Bronze plaque with City coat of arms and inscription

Reaume Park Plaque

Detail of a monument in a park.

Red Beach Memorial

Bust of Robert Burns from below

Robert Burns

Rotary International and Ganatchio Park Plaques

Cement and bronze component monument in a park.

Royal Canadian Air Force Memorial - Dieppe Gardens

Sculpture replica of two planes, a Hurrican and Spitfire.

Royal Canadian Air Force Memorial, Jackson Park

Sea, land, air granite pedestals in a row

Sea, Land, Air

Detail of a silver cross.

Service Personnel Monument

Soroptimists Garden

Spirit of Windsor on display on the riverfront

Spirit of Windsor Engine 5588

Tecumseh Brock Monument, detail of two bronze sculptures.

Tecumseh and Brock Monument

Large granite cenotaph.

The Essex County War Memorial

The Great Western Railway - Plaque

Monument with granite, plaques, and flags in a riverfront park.

The Naval Monument

The Right Honourable Paul Martin Gardens

Bronze bust of Herb Gray

The Rt. Hon. Herb Gray, PC., C.C., Q.C.

The Sandwich Windmill

Bronze figures, two women with a baby and a man standing behind with his arms outstretched in praise

Tower of Freedom

Bronze and cement monument.

Tribute Garden Plaque

Udine Fountain on the riverfront

Udine Fountain

Closeup of Pipe Major Copland plaque

W.O.1. Pipe Major J. (Jock) Copland M.B.E.

Bronze plaque mounted to Willistead Manor.

Willistead Manor Plaques

Granite monument in fron of park gates.

WWI Veterans Memorial