Historic Sites of Manitoba: Oak Lake Cross of Sacrifice (Assiniboine Street, Oak Lake, RM of Sifton)

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

The Cross of Sacrifice at Oak Lake was constructed in 1923 in memory of the men killed in the First World War and later also dedicated to the memory of those killed in the Second World War. It was first placed in the Oak Lake Cemetery. In the late 1930s the Cross was moved to the town park. In 1972, it was moved to the present location near the Legion Hall.

Oak Lake Cross of Sacrifice (September 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Oak Lake War Memorial (September 2011) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.76789, W100.63449 denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
John Alexander Anderson	Assistant Agent	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1897	26 June 1917
Peter Anderson	?	?	?	?	?
Eric Atkins	Farmer	226th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	20 November 1891	Discharged
Thomas Wykes Ashdowne	Farmer	3rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1892	6 November 1917
John Alexander Brownlie	Farmer	Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians)	Private	1890	9 October 1918
George F. Buswell [Lenore]	Farmer	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	8 September 1895	14 August 1918
John Elijah Buswell [Lenore]	Farmer	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	13 May 1897	8 August 1918
Fred Bolton	?	?	?	?	?
Victor Calvert	Farmer	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	16 February 1894	Discharged
Robert Cochrane	Clerk	7th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	23 December 1896	20 April 1918
Stewart Craig	Farmer	13th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1886	4 September 1916
James Campbell Downie	Farmer	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lance Corporal	1885	9 October 1916
Norman Forrest	Farmer	Canadian Engineers	Sapper	1894	3 October 1918
William Carruthers Hamilton [Armoury, Lenore]	Farm Laborer	43rd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	23 August 1891	28 August 1918
William Ironside	?	?	?	?	?
Alvin Fleming Lang	Farmer	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	24 February 1897	11 April 1917
Douglas Ledgerwood	Labourer	2nd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Lance Corporal	1894	29 July 1917
George Loan	Engineer	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	1890	15 September 1918
Ian William Munro	Barbering	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	24 October 1896	9 April 1917
J. C. Montgomery	?	?	?	?	?
Guy Albert Olive	Grading Contractor	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1896	14 October 1918
Allan Patterson (Campbell)	Linotype Operator	42nd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	13 April 1889	30 October 1917
Charles Claudius Piault	School Teacher	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	1892	26 August 1918
John Roberts	Farmer	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1884	22 April 1918
John Edward Sharman DSC & Bar, Croix-de-Guerre with Palm (France)	?	No. 10 Naval Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service	Flight Commander	11 September 1892	22 July 1917
George William Sharratt [108 Battalion]	Teamster	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	19 July 1892	3 June 1917
William Talbot	?	?	?	?	?
John Vickery	Farmer	27th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	1890	6 November 1917
Melville Gordon Watson	Farmer	5th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Corporal	12 October 1893	2 June 1916
Wilfred Lloyd Wisner [Armoury, Fire Hall, Lenore]	Fireman	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	16 December 1894	15 September 1916

* Available records indicate this person was discharged and at present no date of death can be found.

Second World War

Name	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
Harold Edward Allum	Royal Winnipeg Rifles	Rifleman	?	9 June 1944
Cecil Murray Borne	Regina Rifle Regiment	Rifleman	12 June 1923	9 June 1944
David Bernard	166 (RAF) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force	Flight Sergeant	26 August 1923	20 December 1943
Albert Edward Fowell	408 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force	Warrant Officer Class II Air Gunner	11 October 1920	12 June 1943
Frederick George Graham	207 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force	Pilot Officer	23 February 1923	16 July 1944
Alfred Lorne Lawson	2 Survey Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery	Gunner	2 August 1908	28 December 1944
Clifford Stanley Lesurf	USS Canopus, United States Navy	Machinist’s Mate Second Class	19 November 1904	10 December 1942
George D. Stewart	South Saskatchewan Regiment, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps	Private	15 December 1909	23 March 1945
Stanley Smith Williams	413 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force	Flight Lieutenant	6 March 1922	20 August 1943

Sources:

“Oak Lake boys who fell at Vimy,” Manitoba Free Press, 25 May 1917, page 14.

“Oak Lake notes,” Manitoba Free Press, 4 June 1917, page 12.

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 Gordon Goldsborough, Darryl Toews, Nathan Kramer, and Tim Worth.

Page revised: 12 December 2019

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