Edmonton's 1920 Beverly cenotaph vandalized ahead of Nov. 11 memorial

A more than century-old cenotaph in northeast Edmonton has been vandalized, prompting a restoration effort ahead of Remembrance Day in less than a month’s time.

The Beverly Memorial Cenotaph, at the corner of 118 Avenue and 40 Street, is Alberta’s oldest war memorial, opening Oct. 16, 1920, after being build by the Beverly Veterans Institute.

It stands at the end of a short pathway, in the centre of a small square lined by red and white flowers, and lists 28 names of Beverly soldiers who fell in the First World War along with five more who fell in the Second World War.

Sometime in the past two weeks, the cenotaph and parts of the surrounding park were vandalized with graffiti appearing on park benches.

A plaque on a pillar at the start of the path that contained names of those who helped restore the park was also taken. And, a commemorative plaque honouring the contributions of those who served the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and United Nations peace keeping missions was partly pried away from the cenotaph.

Joe Luce, chair of the Beverly Memorial Cenotaph Committee, has worked to maintain the cenotaph for 25 years after serving seven years in the military himself. He previously led efforts to have the cenotaph designed as a municipal historical resource.

“This is the spot where people have come for over 100 years to pay their respects,” he said.

“Our veterans fought to protect our freedom. The very least we can do is protect the memorials built to honour them.”

Luce said he routinely checks the site every other week, and increasingly frequently around Remembrance Day. He said he noticed the damage Saturday morning, and reported it to the city.

“The cenotaph itself, that has to be fixed no matter what,” he said.

He said the damage is still under inspection and that a dollar value to repair it has not yet been determined, but suspects the brass plaques were eyed for their potential scrap metal value.

The site has been the subject of vandalism before with copper wire stripped away, but Luce said the cenotaph itself has rarely been damaged before.

“It’s just when they touch the cenotaph in any way, that to me is a bad thing,” he said.

The land for the park was first donated by a local postmaster with maintenance of the park passing to the City of Edmonton once it amalgamated with the former municipality of Beverly in 1961.

Luce wants the city to take quick action on repairs and improve surveillance of the site while also reminding residents to keep their own watch of the park.

“This is what I would consider to be the centre of Beverly.”

He said replacing the missing plaque could take some time and fears the NATO plaque or others will be stolen next.

But, he’s still hoping to get the cenotaph’s and park’s appearance back in order before the traditional Nov. 11 service which he said he expects to draw more than 4,000 people to the site.

“It’s so important for us to go to pay our respects and to continue the tradition.”