It might be A Long Way to Tipperary, but it was a shorter journey from Belwood to Aboyne for the soldier that once graced the Belwood cenotaph.
On Sept. 12, a ceremony was held at the Wellington County Museum and Archives to re-dedicate the soldier statue that is now housed in an outside, but protected location at the entrance to the new archives building.
On hand were Wellington County Warden Joanne Ross-Zuj, children’s author Linda Grandfield, museum curator Susan Dunlop, Reverend Kate Gregory, Byron Beirnes, Patty Whan, and Michael Chong.
Ross-Zuj called the event a wonderful day of celebration.
“This soldier out in the garden has had quite a journey. And, there’s quite a history how it got to be where it is today.”
She said there was a day in November when Beirnes came to her asking about the condition of cenotaphs throughout Centre Wellington.
“We had the wonderful opportunity to partner with the federal government,” she said.
That partnership provided an opportunity to do something about the condition of the cenotaphs and memorials throughout Centre Wellington, she explained.
“That put us to work on two projects. One was the cenotaph in Elora, which was sinking into the ground. And then we went out to Belwood and recognized that the soldier was in pretty poor condition.”
She said, “It needed immediate attention.”
At that point, the statue was removed and brought to the museum.
“Winter settled in, and I really didn’t know what had happened to it – until one day I was over here at the museum and Bonnie Callen invited me to see what was going on with the soldier.
“It just blew me away. And folks, if you’d seen this monument before it came to the museum, then saw the care and the attention to detail that was being given to correcting all the deficiencies that this monument had … I was speechless. I knew when we unveiled it, it would be absolutely remarkable. When you look at it today, it’s truly remarkable – the love and the care that went into restoring it.”
She added, “We at the county are extremely proud to have it displayed in the garden in front of our new archives. We are absolutely delighted he has a new home here at the museum and we will continue the tradition of honouring him here.”
Ross-Zuj said the story began with former Centre Wellington Mayor Russ Spicer, who was in the audience that day for the event.
“He started this project, and I was delighted to pick it up and move it further,” she said.
Guest speaker and children’s author Linda Grandfield spoke about the era and what thoughts might run through such a soldier’s mind.
Near the end of her talk, she took the audience through the verses of Long Way to Tipperary, a song popular during World War I.
Rev. Kate Gregory, from Belwood-Metz pastoral charge, led the official rededication.
Gregory said when she arrived in the area she heard rumours that there was a new soldier in town.
She did her first Remembrance Day service the following November.
She is now filling herself in on the background and the history “which is important in the county and in our lives.”
Curator Susan Dunlop presented the statue as she said, “In memory of all those who fought in battle for Canada, and on behalf of all of the residents of Wellington County, past, present, and future, we present this statue of a Canadian soldier to be dedicated to the men and women of Wellington County who gave their lives in service to Queen and country.”
Beirnes, of the Fergus branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, said the branch had nothing to do with the restoration of this monument. He compared the Legion as a “go-between.”
He said the Department of Veteran Affairs put up some money in 2006, and Centre Wellington wanted to have some of its monuments repaired or restored.
“Needless to say, they could not do this on their own due to the fact the government said it could not be done because the council was part of Centre Wellington.”
As a result, the Legion was asked to act as liaison.
Beirnes thanked MP?Michael Chong and his staff. “They did a world of help for me because when you deal with a bureaucracy, it’s unbelievable.”
Beirnes said the soldier is made out of marble. The rest of the monument is made out of granite.”
He explained that over a period of years, marble starts to disintegrate.
Beirnes suggested that due to the age of the statue, and a maybe a little bit of vandalism over the years, “the result was the soldier was a mess.”
There were two choices – replace it, or restore it, he said.
“That was a decision I certainly wasn’t going to make by myself, nor was Mayor Joanne. So we went to the community of Belwood to give them the opportunity to do what they wanted to do. So we gave them a choice. If it was going to be restored, the cost was about $25,000; to have a new soldier put in its place was going to cost half that price.”
The community decided to replace the soldier with a granite statue, which was done.
When the statue was being taken down, Dunlop was asked if the museum would like the old one. “By all means, we’d love it,” was her response.
The day it was taken down, Dunlop requested they get the monument right away, but Beirnes had made an agreement with Fergus Monuments to restore it.
As a result, he was reluctant to hand over the statue to Dunlop because the intent was to bring in a man from Montreal who specialized in such restorations.
“Do we have an expert in Centre Wellington? I didn’t think so,” he said. “Needless to say I was shocked with the results. It just flabbergasted me.”
He said Patty Whan “did an excellent job. Just fantastic. I was very hesitant, but I’m from the old school.”
Gord Brown read a short poem written by a young farm boy raised just outside of Belwood.
“The young man landed in Normandy with the Canadian troops on D-Day, and unfortunately, about two months later, was killed in action when his tank was hit by enemy fire.”
“During that two-month period that he lived in Normandy, Trooper William Louttit penned the short poem, Stars over Normandy.
“What an honour it is to be part of this day,” Dunlop said.
She took guests through the journey of the soldier’s restoration.
“While we physically pieced together this soldier, it is all about the journey and the memories.
“We thought that the restoration process of the cenotaph soldier was so unique and interesting that we wanted to share this with the public.
“It has been an honour for our staff to be part of this restoration journey.
Dunlop explained the West Garafraxa cenotaph honouring those who served in World War One was unveiled on July 31, 1921 in Belwood.
The original memorial featured a soldier at ease, carved in white marble, standing alongside a granite monument listing the names of the 11 fallen township soldiers.
The soldier was sculpted in Italy and purchased by the West Garafraxa community through fundraising.
She cited a 1929 photo showing the monument in its original condition.
That photo, Dunlop said, served as a guide for the restoration process with Whan as she reproduced the missing areas.
Dunlop said, “Over the years, the statue suffered considerable damage from natural wear, vandalism, and weaknesses in the marble itself.”
In 2008, the township of Centre Wellington along with the Fergus Legion worked with federal government to replace the damaged soldier with a granite one.
A new granite soldier was in place by October 2008.
Dunlop provided a detailed play-by-play of the efforts required in the restoration of the original soldier.
After the cleaning of dirt, algae, and lichen growth, the marble was washed with warm water and nylon brushes until the water ran clear.
She used the slideshow to illustrate the difference a proper cleaning can make.
However, cleaning could not repair physical damage.
As a result, areas of physical loss using a mortar which acts as a natural stone replacement material – and was used to simulate the colour and texture of the original marble.
The brim of the cap was completely gone, as well as the strap and tip of the bayonet.
Whan later noted that the cost of the new base and installation was around $3,500.
Here restoration work lasted about a month.
The limitation was that the soldier could only be worked upon about an hour per day.
Whan added that much of the work was tracking down the appropriate products and materials which would both replicate and be compatible with the marble.
