The 100th Anniversary of Mississauga’s Port Credit Cenotaph

The oldest cenotaph in Mississauga turns 100 this year. Officially known as the Port Credit and Vicinity Soldiers’ Memorial or the Port Credit War Memorial, the cenotaph was unveiled on November 9, 1925. The cenotaph came to be through the efforts of local individuals and organizations following the First World War to create a permanent memorial for their war dead. But the concept behind a cenotaph or war memorial long predates the First World War, but in the aftermath of the war and following the creation of cenotaphs and memorials overseas, many communities sought out a way to permanently remember their own war dead.

The first cenotaph created after the war was in London, England. Intended to be temporary, it was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens. Inspired by the classical Greek idea kenotaphion, an "empty tomb" to mark absent remains.  The Cenotaph was one of several temporary structures built in London for the Peace Day Parade on July 19, 1919. The public and press pushed for a permanent cenotaph, which was unveiled on November 11, 1920.

Afghanstan War inscription on the Port Credit Cenotaph.

Elsewhere in the British Empire, local communities sought for ways to similarly create memorials. Although it is very likely that conversations around the idea of a permanent memorial in Port Credit very likely took place immediately following the war, the first known mention is found on April 7, 1924 when Reverend Harry Earle from Trinity Anglican Church approached Port Credit Council on behalf of the Port Credit Horticultural Society with the idea of “beautifying the public park on Brook Street and the erection of a Cenotaph in memory of our soldiers killed in action during the War.” (Note: Brook Street would later be named Stavebank Road).

Almost a month later, on May 5, 1924, Mrs. J. Gray, Mrs. A. Lee and Mrs. F. Hamilton, on behalf of the Port Credit branch of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire, also came before Port Credit Council asking for “… a grant to be in erecting a suitable memorial in Port Credit to the memory of our fallen soldiers.”

Engraving on the Port Credit Cenotaph.

A special council meeting of Port Credit’s Village Council was held on December 3, 1924 where Council approved the concept of a memorial, and a Memorial Committee was established, chaired by W.T. Gray of the St. Lawrence Starch Company. The Soldiers’ Memorial Committee was truly a cross-section of the Port Credit community with the Anglican, Presbyterian, Catholic and Methodist churches all represented, as were local aid and benevolent organizations and several local business owners. Port Credit Clerk George W. Gordon played an integral role in spearheading fundraising efforts with the Port Credit Masonic Lodge.

The McIntosh Granite Company of Toronto, a preeminent builder of war memorials, cenotaphs, gravestones, cemetery markers and obelisks in Canada following the First World War, was contracted to design a memorial. Port Credit Council approved the memorial design on April 27, 1915. The design of the cenotaph is based on the “Cross of Sacrifice”, a recommended cenotaph design by Sir Reginald Blomfield for the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission in 1918. The “Cross of Sacrifice”, also called “Cross Type A”, consisted of an octagonal stepped base supporting a tall stone cross on which is fixed a downward pointing sword. The design became one of the most popular cenotaph concepts following the war.

Sketch of Port Credit and Vicinity Soldiers' Memorial, 1925.

The Port Credit Cenotaph is located in what was once the site of an informal town square and a band shell. The band shell was a focal point for community gatherings and festivities, including a rousing send-off for young men departing to serve in the First World War in August of 1914. During the war notices of casualties were posted on the band shell, and the park became the focal point of somber community gatherings. The band shell site was selected for the location of the new cenotaph, the band shell was moved to the waterfront. The cenotaph was dedicated on November 9, 1925, with approximately 2000 people in attendance, and was officially unveiled by Lieutenant Governor Henry Cockshutt.

The Memorial originally listed the names of 32 soldiers from Port Credit and the surrounding area who lost their lives during the First World War. In 1946 and 1983 respectively, the names of those who fell during the Second World War and the Korean War were added. In 1984 the “Port Credit War Memorial (Cenotaph)” was designated under the terms of the Ontario Heritage Act for its historical and contextual significance. Afghanistan War was added to the Cenotaph in 2025.

The park in which the Memorial sits today was not originally named. It was informally referred to as the “Square”, “Village Park”, and “Cenotaph Park”. By 1927 it was known informally as “Memorial Park.” In 2017 the Council of the City of Mississauga formally named the park “Vimy Park” in honour to the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge during the First World War. On September 23, 2023 the Port Credit Cenotaph and Vimy Park were officially rededicated following an extensive redesign of the park by the City of Mississauga.

The inscription on the cenotaph reads: “Those whom this memorial commemorates were numbered among those who at the call of King and country, left all that was dear to them, endured hardness, faced danger and finally passed out of the sight of men by the path of duty and self-sacrifice, giving up their own lives that others might live in freedom. Let those who come after see to it that their names be not forgotten.”

We invite you to join us on Saturday, September 27, from 10 am to 2 pm, at the Port Credit Cenotaph for a special event marking the 100th Anniversary of the Port Credit Cenotaph, re-dedication, and recognizing the new engraving of “Afghanistan War, 2001-2014” having been added to the cenotaph earlier this year. The event is held in collaboration with the City of Mississauga and the Col. Alex Thomson Memorial, Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 82, Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans, Port Credit, Heritage Mississauga, the Port Credit BIA, other community partners including Trinity-St. Paul Anglican Church and St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, and in partnership with Veterans Affairs Canada. The day will feature a special dedication ceremony, parade, tours, family activities, heritage displays, local history talks, and more. The Port Credit Cenotaph and Vimy Park are located at 29 Stavebank Road.

Also happening on September 27 and connecting with local military history, the Orlinski Museum in Clarkson is hosting an open house for the exhibit launch of Brothers in Arms, a powerful new display created in partnership with Veterans Affairs Canada. The Museum will be hosting an afternoon of speeches, presentations, refreshments, a book sale, souvenirs, and more. The museum is located at Wawel Villa – Recreation Room (880 Clarkson Road S, Mississauga), beginning at noon.