According to Merriam-Webster, the word "cenotaph" is derived from the Greek keros (meaning "empty") and taphos (meaning "tomb"), a memorial to someone buried elsewhere. There are over 6,000 war memorials and monuments registered across Canada in the National Inventory of Canadian Military Memorials.

Following World War I, the Port Hope chapter of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire devoted their time to raising funds for the design and construction of a suitable memorial to the memory of those lost in the War. The Cenotaph was unveiled 03 June 1926.

Classically inspired and with gothic touches, an unusual open arch crowns the top. On the front of the memorial are inscribed the names of the local men who died in the Great War and the names of the historic battles are carved in the shaft. A statue of peace adorns the memorial, looking out for the souls lost in the horrific battles. The names of those lost in World War II were added later, as was a small bronze plaque to acknowledge the Korean War, and a later memorial to the men of the merchant navy.

In 2018, the Cenotaph Beautification Project was financially supported by the Port Hope Legion, allowing work to be ompleted on the monument to repair deteriorating lettering, surface cleaning, and repairs to the cross-bed flower beds.

From the Evening Guide, 14 November 1925

IODE DECIDE ON MEMORIAL
Contract Let For Beautiful War Memorial To Be Erected In Memorial Park

At a meeting of the Daughters of the Empire yesterday afternoon, a war memorial was decided on and the contract let through Rutter's Marble Works to the McIntosh Granite Company of Toronto. Talking with Mr. Rutter this morning, he, being a man of much experience in the granite and marble business, said that the IODE had certainly made a very wise choice in the memorial they intend buying, as they were getting real value for their money. There is only one war memorial between Toronto and Montreal which is better than the proposed Port Hope one, and that is at Oshawa. The Oshawa Memorial was erected at a cost of $25,000 and is built with a piece of granite from each of the Allied countries and from several battlefields of the war.

The Memorial to be erected here will stand 26'6" in height and will be built of grey Canadian granite from quarries in Quebec. It will be 11' square at the base. The top of the monument will look very beautiful for it will form a crown-like arch, which the architect who designed the monument copied from a great cathedral in Glasgow, Scotland. At night the top of this memorial will be illuminated by electric lights. A most beautiful statue 7'2" in height will adorn the front of it, and it will take three months to cut this statue from stone. Without a doubt, this is one of the most beautiful War Memorials in Canada and we congratulate the ladies of the IODE on their choice, and also for their untiring efforts during the past years to make a War Memorial possible for Port Hope. A picture of this great monument may be seen in the window of M.G.V. Strong's store. The position it will stand in has not yet been decided, but it is expected that the unveiling of it will take place on the 24th of May.

Click to read the Guide report on the 03 June 1926 unveiling of the Cenotaph.

Peter and Barbara Bolton - Port Hope, Ontario
alivingpast.ca