Memorial bench dedication Nov. 8 at U of S

The bench dedication ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 8 at 11 am, the culmination of four years of work by the committee to honour the 345 students, staff and faculty members from the U of S who served in the Great War.

“We wanted to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of First World War with a permanent monument—simple, graceful and respectful—dedicated to the men and women of the campus who served their country from 1914 to 1918,” said committee chair Bill Waiser, a distinguished professor emeritus of history at the U of S.

The bench will be unveiled in the plaza located between the two original campus residences, just south of The Bowl and immediately north of the Memorial Union Building. The dedication ceremony will be followed by a reception in Louis’ Loft at noon.

“The bench location was an important consideration,” said committee member Patrick Hayes, of University Archives and Special Collections. “We wanted it to be in the heart of the original campus—a place that would have been familiar to the volunteers of the time.”

The bench was designed and created by local artisan Ryan Watson of Rocco Masons, with the committee meeting its goal by fundraising $20,000 for the project.

Of the 345 members of the campus community who served in the First World War, 69 were killed and more than 100 were wounded, with 33 individuals awarded medals of valour.

The university will also be holding its annual Remembrance Day ceremony at the Memorial Gates on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 1:30 pm.