Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brandon Hills United Church / Brandon Hills War Memorial and Pioneer Monument (RM of Cornwallis)

Situated next to the Brandon Hills Cemetery in the Rural Municipality of Cornwallis, two monuments at this site commemorate local residents killed during the First World War (erected in June 1919) and pioneers who first settled here in 1879. Behind the monuments is the building for Brandon Hills United Church. It replaced the former building, which had occupied the site from 1896 to 2004.

The church congregation was established in 1879 by Rev. George Roddick, but a formal building was not erected until 1896, under the pastorates of T. R. Shearer and John Lewis, on land donated by Roddick. The architect for the 40 foot by 28 foot building was W. H. Shillinglaw. It opened on 18 October 1896, with a service conducted by the Rev. J. M. King.

Among the other clerics who served at Brandon Hills Church were John William Ridd and Herbert Thomas Reynolds.

Next to the church is the Brandon Hills Cemetery, and opposite it is Brandon Hills School No. 138.

Former Brandon Hills United Church (circa 2002) Source: Doug Parsonage Site of Brandon Hills monuments in front of the present Brandon Hills United Church (October 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Brandon Hills war memorial (October 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Brandon Hills pioneer monument (October 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Brandon Hills pioneer monument (July 2021) Source: George Penner Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.75299, W99.87136 denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War Casualties

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
David William Blackwell	Teamster	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1893	22 January 1916
Henry John Davis [Armoury, Brandon College]	Student	46th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	7 April 1894	6 May 1917
Albert Vernon Hansford [Wawanesa]	Farmhand	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	20 December 1896	6 December 1917
Harry Walker Kneeshaw [Armoury]	Farmer	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	12 October 1893	1 November 1917
Albert George Palmer	Farmer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1885	21 January 1916
Herbert Pettitt	Milk Carrier	2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment	Private	1897	3 January 1916
Arthur Edward West [Armoury, Carberry, Minitonas]	Farmer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	28 April 1899	27 September 1918

Sources:

For the names of First World War casualities from Manitoba who do not appear on any physical monument in the province, see the Manitoba Historical Society War Memorial. If you know of a name that is omitted from this list, please contact the MHS War Memorial Researcher Darryl Toews (darryl@mhs.mb.ca).

Soldiers of the First World War - Canadian Expeditionary Force, Library and Archives Canada.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Veterans Affairs Canada.

Financial support for research reported on this page was provided by the Manitoba Heritage Grants Program (2015-2016).

The Brandon Hills Story by Murray McPherson, 1979.

We thank Darryl Toews and George Penner for providing information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 9 May 2023

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