Then: Clifton Hill War Memorial

Built to commemorate the men of Niagara Falls who had lost their lives in the First World War (the Great War), this memorial was unveiled in 1927 in Victoria Park. The memorial consists of a granite plinth capped by a bronze statue of a First World War Canadian infantryman holding a rifle in one hand and his helmet in the other, gazing longingly up Clifton Hill to the city of Niagara Falls. The plinth is inscribed with a memorialization of the soldiers lost to the Great War:

TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THE MEN OF NIAGARA FALLS WHO FELL IN THE GREAT WAR

1914-1918

BEHOLD THIS STONE SHALL BE A WITNESS UNTO US

The sides of the monument lists the men of Niagara Falls who were killed in the First World War, and the rear lists the battles in which the men of Niagara Falls fought. The memorialization encompasses the Canadian Army's expedition to Siberia in 1918-1919 during the peacemaking process which followed the Armistice.

In 1982, an inscription was added to commemorate the Second World War and Korean War; the inscription was edited, with an 'S' added to Great War, and the years 1939-1945 added. The spacing between this secondary inscription is irregular when compared to the rest of the text. Separate pink granite stones which flank the main memorial list the names of those Niagara Falls residents who perished in the Second World War. The names of the four war dead of the Korean War were added to the rear of the plinth under the heading "1950 Korea 1953."

Now: Clifton Hill War Memorial

The Clifton Hill War Memorial remains in Victoria Park to this day amidst the bustle of the tourism heart of the Niagara Region. The city which the monument's serviceman once longed for is now dominated by high-rise casinos and hotels.

Right in Niagara. 2020. Clifton Hill War Memorial. https://rightinniagara.blogspot.com/2010/11/clifton-hill-war-memorial.html

Niagara Falls Then and Now
A collaborative project
Niagara Falls Museums - Niagara Falls Public Library - Dept. of Geography and Tourism Studies,Brock University.
Original newspaper series by Sherman Zavitz, Official Historian for the City of Niagara Falls from 1994 - 2019.

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Copyright for all content remains with original creators.