Join the NAC Orchestra Brass Quartet for a special commemorative ceremony and chamber music performance at the Canada Memorial in Green Park to commemorate the young Canadian lives lost on the 100th anniversary of the First World War.  The memorial honours the nearly one million Canadian and Newfoundland men and women who served in the United Kingdom during the First and Second World Wars.  A special wreath made by students at Canada’s John McCrae Secondary School will be presented.

Designed by Canadian sculptor Pierre Granche and unveiled by Her Majesty The Queen in 1994, the Canada Memorial honours the more than 100,000 brave Canadians and Newfoundlanders who paid the ultimate sacrifice for peace and freedom.

The monument is located across from Buckingham Palace in Green Park, one of the Royal Parks of London, England. It is made of red granite from the Canadian Shield with inset bronze maple leaves arranged in a windswept pattern. The polished granite is set at an incline and a shimmer of water flowing over it creates the impression of maple leaves floating down a stream.

The monument is divided into two sections representing Canadian and British participation in the two World Wars. At the centre is a narrow walkway. At the east end of the walkway is a circular bronze casting which reads: “In two world wars one million Canadians came to Britain and joined the fight for freedom. From danger shared, our friendship prospers.”

Also contained in the bronze casting is a compass rose that orients the sculpture toward Halifax, Nova Scotia, the port from which most Canadians left for active service. In the hollow area between the bronze casting and the monument is a set of stairs so that passers-by can sit and reflect.