Link to:
Photos & Coordinates | Second World War | Sources
Located within the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) Weston Shops in Winnipeg, over time the CPR commissioned several war memorials commemorating its employees who had served and died during the First World War and Second World War. The original war memorial was a large illustrated plaque in tribute to those who served during the First World War, with the names of significant battles Canadians fought at listed thereon. It was unveiled on 28 April 1922, in a joint-event day which also saw the Winged Victory Monument unveiled in front of the Canadian Pacific Railway Station, with both ceremonies held concurrently. Similar monuments were simultaneously publicly unveiled in Montreal and Vancouver as part of a cross-Canada event, honouring those that served and commemmorating the over 1,100 CPR employees who died during the First World War.
The Weston Shop ceremony was lead by Assistant Superintendent (Motive Power) A. Sturrock, with long-serving and retired employee S. J. Pentland unveiling the monument, Alderman (Major) Robert James Shore giving the formal address to those assembled, and Reverend Robert Weston Ridgeway providing the dedication. In addition to the infantry and armour answering Britannia's call, the plaque depicts the Canadian Pacific Steamship RMS Empress of Russia (used during the war as an armed merchant cruiser and transport ship), HMS Lion (Admiral Beatty's flagship during the Battle of Jutland), and a CPR locomotive in a nod to all those who travelled by train across Canada before heading overseas. The plaque was designed by Archibald Pearce (Chief Engineer's Department, Montreal) with its model and casting undertaken by the Bromsgrove Guild at Worcester, England.
Following the Second World War, a small crest was commissioned to accompany the First World War plaque, now honouring those employees who served in either conflict. By the early 1950s, this war memorial was displayed next to the Weston Yard main gate at McPhillips Street and Jarvis Avenue. In additional to the large plaque and crest, an honour roll was created for the over 400 local employees who served during the Second World War, with both co-located at the same entrance for many years. The gate display was later moved into the yard. Also known to exist within the Weston Shops, and later displayed in concert with the later-relocated honour roll by the 1990s, was a glass showcase with wire models of various items of military hardware, though its present whereabouts are not yet determined.
Following the redevelopment of an employee parking area in the Weston Shops area of the railway yard between 2018 and 2020, the large plaque was relocated there and mounted on a new stone base, with the 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 crest immediately below, and set above an updated rendition of the Second World War honour roll.
Canadian Pacific Railway Weston Shops War Memorial (May 2022)
Source: Glen Toews
Canadian Pacific Railway Weston Shops War Memorial (May 2022)
Source: Glen ToewsSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.92218, W97.18705
denoted by symbol on the map above
Name
Service
Rank
Birth Date
Death Date
James Allan
Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps
Private
14 May 1908
8 August 1944
William Thomas Cheropita
410 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Sergeant
20 March 1919
27 August 1943
Hesketh Cooke
Royal Canadian Artillery
Gunner
26 September 1921
2 December 1942
James Leonard Drysdale
44 (Rhodesia) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Pilot Officer
28 June 1921
24 May 1943
Arthur Douglas Maw
[Miniota]76 (RAF) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Pilot Officer
27 June 1923
31 March 1944
Caswell Ivan Phillips
HMCS Uganda, Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve
Leading Stoker
28 September 1923
2 April 1945
Robert William Ritchie
431 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Warrant Officer Class II
27 January 1920
4 December 1943
Peter Rudick
100 (RAF) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Flight Sergeant
22 August 1918
17 April 1943
Ernest Harold Sellar
405 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Flight Sergeant
9 January 1921
21 February 1943
John Gordon Stewart
Royal Canadian Air Force
Pilot Officer
20 February 1924
24 February 1944
John Whittaker
15 (RAF) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Sergeant
7 December 1924
12 May 1944
Walter Yunsko [Wlado Yanishko]
424 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Pilot Officer
31 January 1921
1 November 1944
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winged Victory Monument (2109 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
“Impressive unveiling of railway memorial,” Manitoba Free Press, 29 April 1922, page 7.
“In labor circles,” Winnipeg Free Press, 7 November 1953, page 6.
War Memorials of Manitoba: A Beginning Inventory by Patrick Morican, 1996.
Find War Dead & Cemeteries, Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Canadian Virtual War Memorial, Veterans Affairs Canada.
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).
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer, Darryl Toews, and Glen Toews.
Page revised: 29 March 2023
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