Memorial Remembers

There are several ways in which we try to preserve the memory of our fallen and honour their sacrifice, both on and off campus:

  • In the lobby of Arts and Administration Building, St. John's campus, there is a Founders Gallery of bronze busts of the university's official trustees and dedication plaque on Memorial Wall in inscribed with the words: "That in freedom of learning their sacrifice might not be forgotten."

  • The university’s annual academic Calendar features a photgraph of the dedication plaque and lists the names of alumni killed in Second World War.

  • The annual Ceremony of Remembrance is held each November on the St. John's campus with participation by the Royal Canadian Legion colour party and the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Band. Commemorative activities also take place at the Marine Institute in St. John's, where ceremonies are held to honour those lost in the merchant marine service, and at Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook.

  • During on-campus ceremonies held each year on Nov. 11 and at the July 1 ceremony at the national war memorial in St. John's, commemorative wreaths are laid as tribute.

  • A donation by the Johnson Family Foundation funded the creation of Memorial Tower on St. John's campus in the late 1990s. It bears a dedication plaque acknowledging the sacrifice of all the men and women who served their country.

  • Next to Queen Elizabeth II Library on St. John's campus is Veteran's Memorial Court, established in 1999.

  • Memorial's origins are documented in a historical display, sponsored by Johnson Family Foundation, located inside the base of the Memorial Tower.

  • The Queen Elizabeth II Library features collections and displays of special wartime-related archival materials.

  • The Book of Remembrance, which commemorates the lives of men and women who died while serving their country and was donated by the late Dr. G. Campbell Eaton, is located in the Founders Gallery lobby of the Arts and Administration building on the St. John’s campus. The Registrar's Office has the responsiblity for turning the pages of the book daily so that all names inscribed in the book can be read. A second Book of Remembrance was donated to the university by Senator C.W. Carter and resides with the J.R. Smallwood Collection at the Centre for Newfoundland Studies in the Queen Elizabeth II Library. A third Book of Remembrance was donated to Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook in 2017 by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Government of Canada. This replica will be displayed along with the retired Colours of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Newfoundland Regiment. All three replicas are copies of the book displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. A replica is also displayed in the Confederation Building in St. John's.

  • A sculpture of the Danger Tree, created by Memorial University alumni Morgan MacDonald, is on Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook. The sculpture was unveiled by HRH The Princess Royal on June 29, 2016 to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Beaumont Hamel. The Danger Tree commemorative marker is a gift to Memorial University from Corner Brook’s Forget Me Not Committee.