During the Great War Canada answered the call of the Empire with many of her young men and women. These Canadians joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.), the R.C.N. and R.N.C.V.R. as well as the forces of Great Britain and her allies. A good number of these young people were never to return home. Those who were found and identified were buried in foreign lands. Many are simply commerated on monuments such as the Vimy Memorial. As well of those who returned many carried scars, which would take their lives in later years.

As with all forces of the Empire, their sacrifice was commemorated with the issue of a bronze memorial plaque. The plaques, 5 inches in diameter with a plain reverse, were individually cast with the name of the individual being commemorated in raised letters. They carry no mention of rank, number or military affiliation. The inscription around the edge reads
 

"HE DIED FOR FREEDOM AND HONOUR"

When the plaque commemorates a female the inscription is

 

"SHE DIED FOR FREEDOM AND HONOUR"

These plaques (See image) have been known as "death pennies" and "widow's pennies". The plaques were enveloped in a brown cardboard folder. Each plaque carried with it a message of condolence signed by King George V (See image).

Memorial Plaque     George V Letter

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The plaques were always accompanied by a scroll, which did contain the military details of the fallen (See image).

Memorial Scroll

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Plaques and scrolls were issued to the families of the fallen up to the early 1920s.

Canadians who made the supreme sacrifice were commemorated with a silver cross, in addition to the plaque and scroll of the Commonwealth nations. The ‘Memorial Cross’ was approved by the Government on September 24th, 1919 to recognize those, members of the Armed Forces who were killed in action, died of wounds or whose death in later years could be directly attributed to their wartime service. The Cross is awarded to the mother of the fallen member and if that person is married a cross is also issued the widow. As in the case of a male member, when a female meets the terms of award a cross is awarded to the mother; but I have not been able to ascertain whether one would be issued to the widower if the member had been married.

The terms of award for the Memorial Cross did not make provision for Canadians who lost their lives while in the service of the Mercantile Marine.

The sterling silver Memorial Cross, measures 1-¼ by 1-¼ inches with a double ring on the upper arm through which a purple silken ribbon is passed to hang the cross around the neck of the family member. The cross patonce, surmounted on a wreath of laurel has on the upper arm, beneath the mounting ring, a crown and at the extremity of each of the other arms a maple leaf all in high relief. A smaller St. George's cross is superimposed, in the centre of which is the cypher of the reigning sovereign in high relief. The reverse of the cross is plain, save for the sterling and makers marks on the lower arm, and on this tablet is engraved the details of the fallen. In the case of enlisted personnel in two lines in the centre of the cross, the service number, rank and name; and in the case of officers just the rank and name, usually in just one line.

George V Memorial Cross

World War 1

This Memorial Cross is named

457246

Pte. J.S. Hanna

The Crosses are cased in a simple plush lined black box with a crown on the lid and are accompanied by a small card.

World War 1 Cards

Type 1 Card	Type 2 Card

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When a death occurs in later years a cross of the current type is issued. That is to say if a World War one veteran dies in 1955 and that death is attributed to wartime service a QE II type cross would be issued if the mother and/or wife are still living. Many examples of this exist and are usually easily identified by the service number.

When Canada entered World War Two in 1939, the requirement to commemorate the fallen again existed and the Memorial Cross was again chosen as the means of accomplishing this objective. Accordingly in 1940 the terms of award established in 1919 were amended to include those who died in the Second World War. A year later in 1941, the terms were further amended to include casualties of the Merchant Navy. Early in the war when the first casualties began to be incurred, the Government did not have a supply of Crosses on hand with the George VI cypher, so the supply of crosses remaining unused from the Great War were issued. The conditions of award were exactly the same as those of the First War.

The naming on Second War crosses in some cases deviated slightly from the practice of the First War. The differences include two lines for the rank, a line for the name and a final line for the number. As well I have seen a naval cross to an enlisted person, with no number, just name, rank and branch of service. As the engraving was carried out by different local engravers it is not surprising that one would find variations in the format.

George VI Memorial Cross

World War II

This Memorial Cross is named

LT. COMDR.

A.L.B. ALEXANDER

Examples of the accompanying cards for World War 2 awards are shown in the following graphics.

World War 2 Cards

Naval Card	Air Force Card	Army Card

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In addition to the Memorial Cross, a sterling silver Memorial Bar (See below), manufacture by the Birks Company of Montreal, was also sent to the families of the fallen. The bars, enclosed in a royal blue cardholder, were meant to be sewn to the decorations and medals awarded the fallen. I have not been able to confirm the issue of the bar in each case of a fallen soldier, sailor of airman. Examples of the Cross are usually discovered without the accompanying bar. It is uncommon to find both the Cross and the Bar together. This may be because most people neglected to sew the bar to the medals. Of note, I have never seen nor heard of a George V cross issued early in WW2, being accompanied by the Memorial Bar nor have ever seen a bar named to a member of the Merchant Navy.

The World War 2 Memorial Bar

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While the Government intended that the WW2 Cross should be hung around the neck from the purple ribbon many Mothers and widows chose to pin the Cross to the chest much like a broach. To accomplish this a bar was used, many of which incorporate a small badge or crest to denote regiment or branch of service of the fallen. These bars were manufactured privately, mostly by the Lackie Company of Toronto. Examples of these bars are found in the following graphics.

With the Elizabeth issue Crosses a change was made to reflect the preference shown with the George VI issue crosses of WW2 and the commercial broach pin. Instead of the ribbon mount the Government adopted a standard broach type of mount and the Crosses now hang from a plain bar similar to the horizontal arm of the Cross.

An amendment made in 1950, to the World War 2 terms of award, recognizes those Canadians who died while serving Canada under an instrument for collective defense such as the United Nations Charter. This would include all those killed in the Korean War and those killed in the many post war peacekeeping operations in which Canada participated. It is my understanding that all Crosses issued for Korea were of the George VI type. As Canada has not been involved in any major war since Korea, to the best of my knowledge the Elizabeth type Cross has only been issued for those killed whilst on active peace keeping duties and as noted above for those veterans of earlier wars whose death is directly attributable to that service.

Elizabeth II Memorial Cross

Peacekeeping

This Memorial Cross is named

V23 982 819

Cpl. D. GUNTHER

Cpl Daniel Gunther of the Royal 22nd Regiment, the famous Van Doos, was killed whilst serving as a peacekeeper in Bosnia. A link to Cpl. Gunther's Memorial Site may be found on my "Wanted Page". Please visit this site and leave a message for the parents of this self-sacrificing Canadian. I know it would be appreciated.