Historic Sites of Manitoba: Darlingford Memorial Park (Darlingford, Municipality of Pembina)

Link to:
First World War | Second World War | Other | Sources

On 5 July 1921, Darlingford and the surrounding district commemorated those who had served in the First World War by unveiling a small Gothic-inspired memorial building and park. It is the only free-standing memorial building in Manitoba with the sole function of commemorating the war dead. Inside the memorial, two black marble tablets bear the names of men who served and died in the First World War and Second World War. The unveiling ceremony was attended by Lieutenant-Governor James Aikins.

The memorial was the inspiration of Darlingford farmer and politician Ferris Bolton, whose three sons were killed in France in 1917. It was designed by Arthur A. Stoughton, the first head of the School of Architecture at the University of Manitoba. The Morden Experimental Farm designed and landscaped the park. Dr. W. R. Leslie, the Farm’s Superintendent, tended the park for many years. A plaque was erected in 1992 at the site at the Manitoba Heritage Council. In the 2000s, the facility was part of the Manitoba Prairie Icons Program.

On 17 August 2012, a German 7.92-mm Maxim Spandau MG08 machine gun that had been displayed next to the memorial was stolen. It was returned on 9 November 2014 and is presently stored inside the memorial building.

Postcard view of the Darlingford Memorial Park (no date) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2022-0019 Darlingford Memorial Park (July 2013) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Darlingford Memorial Park (September 2022) Source: George Penner Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.20549, W98.37998 denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
Alvin Wesley Andrew	Motor Driver	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1898	7 April 1918
Frederick Barnes [Miami]	Farmer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1894	23 July 1918
Wilbert George “Bert” Bolton	Farmer	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Corporal	1894	9 April 1917
Elmer Leeds Bolton [Bank of Montreal, Manitou]	Bank Clerk	107th Pioneer Battalion, Canadian Pioneers	Pioneer	1 October 1897	15 August 1917
Harold Albert “Harry” Bolton MM [Bank of Montreal, Manitou]	Banker	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Corporal	25 April 1896	20 June 1917
Louis Ford Bond	Clerk	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1888	3 June 1917
Mark Cockle	Farmer	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	1890	10 April 1917
James Dudgeon	Farmer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1896	3 May 1917
William Henry Keown	Farmer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1898	10 November 1917
David Alexander McKenzie	Labourer	21st Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1887	11 October 1918
James McKenzie	Farmer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1894	6 November 1917
William Martindale	Farmer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1896	14 April 1917
Charles Coutts Masson	Farmer	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1899	28 September 1918
John McNaughton Mitchell [Manitou]	Farm Hand	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	6 November 1889	30 October 1917
David Scott Nichol	Farmer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1888	28 April 1917
Howard James Scales	Farmer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1887	10 April 1917
Oliver Garfield Swire	Farmer	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1894	28 September 1918
James Taylor	Farmer	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1892	3 September 1917
Thomas Henry Wilson	Farmer	1st Manitoba Regiment	Private	17 September 1890	8 October 1918

Second World War

Name	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
Ross Robert Brogden [Manitou]	Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps	Private	11 February 1919	25 April 1943
George Keith Collins [Manitou]	Seaforth Highlanders of Canada	Private	8 August 1908	23 May 1944
Ralph Edward Hawken [Manitou]	148 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force	Air Gunner	21 July 1913	4 November 1943
Harvey Lloyd Kinsman [Manitou]	Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps	Rifleman	19 September 1923	10 August 1944
Albert Clayton Law [Manitou]	405 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force	Flying Officer	27 January 1915	10 July 1943
Andrew Joseph Laing	Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada	Private	c1919	19 August 1942
Kenneth William Lawson [Manitou]	76 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force	Flight Sergeant	19 July 1921	12 June 1943
Thomas Roy Lovell [Manitou]	Winnipeg Grenadiers, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps	Corporal	1 November 1911	24 February 1944
Lloyd William McElroy [Manitou]	415 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force	Pilot Officer	23 March 1924	29 July 1944
David Scott Nichol [Manitou]	Winnipeg Grenadiers, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps	Lance Corporal	12 December 1919	12 October 1942
William Murray Ramsay [Manitou]	Royal Canadian Artillery	Gunner	24 September 1921	7 September 1944
William Joseph Steenson [Manitou]	Royal Canadian Air Force	Warrant Officer Class II	24 August 1920	14 April 1944

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Provincially Designated Historic Sites

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Prairie Churches Project / Manitoba Prairie Icons Project

The Darlingford Memorial Park by Jeffrey Thorsteinson
Manitoba History, Number 76, Fall 2014

Sources:

“3 brothers give lives in defense of empire,” Winnipeg Tribune, 12 January 1918, page 5.

“Pays honor to war dead,” Winnipeg Tribune, 6 July 1921, Page 1.

[Gun return], The [Manitou] Western Canadian, 11 November 2014.

Darlingford Memorial Park, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.

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).

We thank Bob Jordan and George Penner for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough, Darryl Toews, and Jim Busby.

Page revised: 28 May 2023

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