It was a year of ceremonial events for the Ontario Regiment in 1924, all of which are still relevant today. The Ontarios performed an integral part of the ceremonies for Oshawa becoming a city, the dedication of the new cenotaph in Whitby, and a similar event in Oshawa.
from the left is Mike Bouckley, the father of Thomas Bouckley, for whom
the photographic collection is named.
The Oshawa Armoury was the centre of activities on 8 March 1924 to celebrate Oshawa becoming a city. Citizens and dignitaries assembled in the morning and Oshawa Mayor W.J. Trick and other politicians made speeches. The charter took effect at noon, at which time the bells of the town hall and various churches rang and factory whistles blew. This was followed by a 25-gun salute fired by members of the Ontario Regiment. Bands marched in the streets in the afternoon and a parade of decorated cars and trucks was held in the evening. The parade arrived back at the Armoury where yet more speeches were made. Mayor Trick spoke again and was joined by W.E.N. Sinclair, the serving Member of Provincial Parliament and a former mayor of Oshawa. Other formers mayors and prominent citizens also spoke. The day’s events concluded with a dance, open to the public, at the Armoury.
The Whitby War Memorial, now known as the cenotaph, was dedicated on 3 June 1924. A parade to the cenotaph, located at the southwest corner of Dundas and Garden Streets, was composed of numerous local groups. The Ontario Regiment Band, serving members of the Regiment, and veterans of the 116th Battalion and the 182 nd Battalion were included. Whitby Mayor Richard Bassett was the chairman of the ceremonies. The first speaker was Ontario Lieutenant Governor Henry Cockshutt, who spoke of his recent trip to the former battlefields of France and Belgium. Mayor Bassett and Dr R.T. MacLaren, the president of the Whitby War Veterans’ Club also spoke. “C” Company of the Ontario Regiment, headquartered in the Whitby Armoury immediately the west of the cenotaph, fired a salute. The families of the 40 men whose names were on the memorial plaque were also in attendance. The ceremony concluded with the laying of wreaths.
The Ontarios participated in the unveiling of the War Memorial in the city park (now known as Memorial Park) on Simcoe Street South on 10 November 1924. The memorial, named the “Garden of the Unforgotten,” commemorated the 138 residents of Oshawa killed in the Great War. The memorial incorporated stones from each of the Allied countries in the war, as well as from many of the major battles fought by Canadians. A group of four mothers who were only named by the newspapers as Mrs. Lyons, Mrs. Wood, Mrs. Walker, and Mrs. Dionne were key guests at the ceremony. Each of these mothers had lost two sons during the Great War. The eight names were inscribed on the plaque which was unveiled by the women. Sir William Mulock, the Chief Justice of Ontario, unveiled the memorial itself, which was sculpted by Alfred Howell. The cenotaphs in Oshawa and Whitby each became the focal point of Armistice Day ceremonies in the following years and continue to do so today for Remembrance Day.
Rod Henderson
Rod Henderson is the Regimental Historian of the Ontario Regiment. He served as a Sergeant in the Regiment and is the author of “Fidelis Et Paratus: The History of The Ontario Regiment RCAC”.