War Memorial

War Memorial, McGill University

McGill was among the first universities in North America to erect a War Memorial. This initiative also included the construction of a swimming pool and a memorial hall at the east end of the Sir Arthur Currie Gymnasium on Pine Avenue in Montreal. The Graduates’ Society sponsored the campaign to raise the necessary funds to construct the memorial. The initial objective for the campaign was fixed at $400,000, and was exceeded during the fundraising effort.

Due to its success, the campaign was further expanded to erect a memorial archway to the library at the Macdonald Campus and to establish an Annual Memorial Assembly. In 1946, the cornerstone was laid for the War Memorial Swimming Pool. Finally, on January 19, 1948, a closing dinner marked the successful termination of the War Memorial campaign under the chairmanship of Dr. C.J. Tidmarsh, President of the Graduates’ Society.