World War 1 Living Guard of Honour & Memorial – Indian & Canadian Brothers In Arms

Memorial – 6ft x 8ft Granite Rock with battlefield scenes from Ypres, St-Julian, The Somme, Festubert & Vimy  Ridge hand carved on it.

• VISION
  • To commemorate the valour of Indian and Canadian Brothers In Arms, to inspire future generations to uphold values of humanity and freedom.
• MISSION 
  • This memorial highlights the forgotten story of the collaboration between the Indian & Canadian soldiers who fought side by side, at the Western Front, in Europe.
  • Bring forward shared personal experiences of battle, challenges, emotions and triumph.
  • To reflect on the lessons from the stories of heroism, sacrifices and voices of liberation.

1. Srishti Foundation, a registered Not For Profit organization based in London, ON, is leading an effort to build “Living Guard of Honour  & Memorial” for the Indian & Canadian Brother in Arms, soldiers who fought side by side, at the Western Front, in Europe, a first of its kind in Canada. This project is happening in 2 phases –

• Phase 2 targeted for completion on November 11th, 2023 (Remembrance Day): Building and Installing a Stone Memorial depicting scenes from battles fought together by Indian and Canadian soldiers in France and Belgium on the Western Fron, in WW1. The battle scenes of Vimy Ridge, Somme & Flanders Field will be hand carved on  6ft x 8ft Sira Grey Granite Rock. A pathway, access to the site, plaques with stories of soldiers and landscaping at the site will also be part of this project.

Over 135,000 (of a total of 1.3 Million)  Indian Army Corps soldiers fought alongside Canadian soldiers in Europe that included but not limited to –  Ypres, St Julian, Festubert, The Somme, Vimy

What’s the connection between Indian soldiers and the poem “In Flanders Fields”?

If Indian troops in the Lahore Division hadn’t arrived in October and November of 1914 in the Flanders area of Belgium, the Germans would have taken the ports and the Canadian Expeditionary Force would not
have landed on the European mainland. John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Field would not have been written. The Flanders’ territory was basically held by the British and Indians in the first battle of Ypres. Six months later, Canadians landed and then fought jointly with Indian soldiers in the second battle of Ypres.

The memorial will provide a site for quiet reflection and inspiration, reminding future generations of the selfless sacrifice and valour of our ancestors, Indians & Canadian soldiers, who were brothers-in-arms, fighting alongside each other.   The exact cost of building this stone memorial, and shipping it here, involving import duties & taxes, engineering costs, installation costs, foundation/construction costs as per local code, local transportation costs, cost of plaques etc.,  are being worked on at this time. 

Eventually over a few years, we envision the site to be transformed into a well maintained beautiful green space with a beautiful stone memorial, trails, benches and display along the trail and the memorial that will tell the untold stories of these soldiers and a testimony of the friendship and ties of India & Canada. The stormwater pond will add to the ambiance of the site, turning it into a park for quiet reflection, paying our respects and celebrations (during Remembrance day etc.)

• Phase 1 Completed on May 26th, 2018: Funding and planting 108 Trees – a mix of Deciduous trees and Conifers from the same family of trees found in the sub-Himalayan climes. The site is located on Veterans Memorial Parkway in London, Ontario, less than a 2-minute drive from 401 West, on the Toronto to Windsor section of the 401 Freeway. Click here to view the site at the South West corner of the intersection of Veteran’s Memorial Parkway and Hamilton Road.  The site is public land, owned by the City of London. 108 Trees planted in rows and columns similar to soldiers in a formation make up a “Living Guard of Honour” while a Stone feature will make up the memorial.

Media Reports on the Phase 1 of this project

• CBC News – First WWI memorial to honour Indian soldiers coming to Ontario
• London Free Press -London tree planting honours India’s First World War soldiers

On May 26th, 2018, in partnership with the City of London and Trees for 3 Dots, we completed Phase 1 of this project. 108 Trees were planted at the site by over 120 volunteers, donors, supporters & some Canadian Army soldiers, in about 2.5 hours. The event began at the site at 9:00 a.m. inaugurated by Mr Davinder Pal Singh, Consul (Press, Information & Community Welfare), Consulate General of India, Toronto &  London City Councillor Tanya Park. The Mayor of the City of London, Matt Brown joined us too at the site and addressed the volunteers later over lunch at the Royal Canadian Air Force 427 (London) Wing. The Canadian Forces were represented by soldiers of the Royal Canadian Regiment. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were also present at the event. 

STAY TUNED FOR INFORMATION AND HOW TO CONTRIBUTE TO PHASE 2.

Our Supporters – Phase 1
(1 Tree or More)