Monuments with "Peace Memorial" in Their Names

All known monuments with "peace memorial" in their names are shown below in chronological order.
(There are undoutedly many others yet to be "found" and added to this web page.)

With two exceptions -- Put-In-Bay, Ohio, in 1915 & Portland, Oregon, in 2006 -- all of the known monuments are
either (1) in areas of the British Commonwealth and built just after World War I
or (2) in or near Japan and built after World War II.

The British Comonwealth use of the phrase is addressed on a website of the Peace Pledge Union (PPU), London (England).
The earliest known Japanese use of the phrase is in the title of the "Hiroshima Peace Memorial City Construction Plan" enacted in 1952.

It has not yet been determined if (1) the English phrase as used in Japan is a translation from Japanese and only coincidentally related to the previous use in Commonwealth areas or (2) leaders in Hiroshima were aware that the phrase had been used in English-speaking countries and adopted it for some of the plans, memorials, parks, and museums they created after World War II.

Right click image to enlarge.

June 13, 1915 - Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial, Put-in-Bay, South Bass Island, Ohio (USA). "Established to honor those who fought in the Battle of Lake Erie, during the war of 1812, but in equal part it is here to celebrate the long-lasting peace between Britain, Canada, and the US."

1919 - Peace Memorial Hall, Heroes Square, George Town, Grand Cayman Island (Cayman Islands). Built imediately after World War I in the heart of Old George Town.

Date? - Peace Memorial Hall, Murray Road, near Kingstown (Saint Vincent & the Grenadines). Image shows "the section of Murray Road close to Kingstown. The pink building in the center is Peace Memorial Hall and the open area to the right has playing fields."

Date? - Peace Memorial Hall (PMH), Codicote Hertfordshire (England). "Inside the PMH, as it is usually known [sic], are two Memorial Boards listing those who served in the Forces during the two World Wars."

About 1920 - Peace Memorial, Delly Green, Hailey (Witney Parish), Oxfordshire (England). "A 'Peace Memorial' on Delly green, in the form of a small domed temple supported on four columns, was erected about 1920 by Mrs. Phipps of Hailey Manor, and a war memorial cross near the church in Middletown about the same time." An annual peace service takes place on Delly Green

Date? - Peace Memorial, Fair Oak Square, Fair Oak Village, Eastleigh Borough, Hampshire (England). Also called "Hampshire War Memorial." Related to World War I?

1921 - Peace Memorial Park, Historic Centre, Wigston, Leicestershire (England). " Established by public donation [and] recently rejuvenated with a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, the park now boasts an award-winning pavilion [and is] home of Wigston's bowls clubs. ...an active Friends Group [partnered] with the council [to achieve] the lottery grant and continue to be involved in the ongoing management of the park."

1921 - Peace Memorial School, 85 East 36th Street, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada). Only the portico (in the shape of a triumphal or memorial arch) was preserved when the 84-year old school was demolished in the Summer of 2005. The site is now called Peace Memorial Park [qv] and is under development.

1920's - Ashtead Peace Memorial Hall, Woodhead Lane, Ashtead, Mole Valley District, Surry (England). "Where Ashtead meets."

1922 - Kosai County Peace Memorial, Balcairn, Canterbury (New Zealand). "The Ashley on the building refers to the merging of the Kowai and Ashley Counties in 1967. Houses two plaques, one for Frst World War the other Second World War."

1922 - Geelong & District Peace Memorial Hall, Johnstone Park, Geelong, Victoria (Australia).

Date? - Melbourne Unitarian Peace Memorial Church, Melbourne, Victoria (Australia). Founded in 1852. Most likely adopted "peace memorial" as part of its name after World War I. Church website says. "During the 'Great War,' the 'Great Depression' and the war against Nazism, the Melbourne Unitarian Church [sic] became increasingly involved and vocal on issues of social justice and peace. It was during this time that the Church developed the motto 'Seek the Truth, and Serve Humanity.'"

1925 - Beit el-Amani / Peace Memorial Museum, Mnazi Moja, Stone Town (Zanzibar). Built in memory of those who died in World War I. " the British extended their ideas of ‘indirect rule’ even to the architecture of the early colonial monumental buildings. The museum was therefore designed [by British architect J.H. Sinclair] as an oriental Islamic structure, reminiscent of the Aya Sophia Mosque in Istanbul, a hexagonal building with a huge central dome and smaller domes at the corners." Now [contains] traditional crafts and household items from residents of Zanzibar, sultans, slave traders, European explorers and missionaries. Displays feature David Livingstone's medical chest, information about the harvesting of cloves, and the story of the German battleship Konigsberg which sunk during World War I.

June 12, 1930 - Shrine Peace Memorial, Exposition Park, 2 Strachan Avenue, Toronto, Onatrio (Canada). "Presented to the people of Canada by Imperial Potentate, Noble Leo V. Youngworth, on behalf of the 600,000 members of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Shriners) to commemorate the peaceful relationships existing for over a century between Canada and the United States." Entry #1333 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1953 - Alfrick Peace Memorial Hall, Clay Green, Alfrik & Lulsley (England). Adjacent to the Village Playing Field.

August 6, 1955 - Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima (Japan). Click here for Wikipedia article. The Genbaku Dome (severly damaged by the bomb) was designated a World Heritage Site in 1996. The Park also contains the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, the Hiroshima Peace Bell, and many other peace monuments. Upper image is air view. Lower image shows the cenotaph (right) and Hiroshima Boys Choir (left) during the annual Peace Memorial Ceremony on August 6 (Hiroshima Day).

August 6, 1955 - Peace Memorial Museum, 1-2 Nakajima-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima (Japan). At site of the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. Two buildings. One of 3 institutions hosting 6th International Conference of the International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP) in October 2008. One of 9 Japanese institutions described in brochure for 6th International Conference of the INMP in 2008. Click here for Wikipedia article.

May 1972 - Okinawa Peace Memorial Park, Mabuni Hill, Okinawa (Japan). Click here for many Okinawa peace monuments.

Date? - Japanese Peace Memorial, Mt. Austin (1353 feet), Guadalcanal Island (Solomon Islands). Has view of Honiara, Iron Bottom Sound & the Florida Islands.

Date? - Peace Memorial Park, Suicide Cliff, Saipan Island (US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). "From the base of Suicide Cliff, you can look upwards to where many Japanese civilians and soldiers jumped to their deaths."

1985? - Hiroshima & Nagasaki Peace Memorial flower bed 1945 - 1985, Memorial Gardens behind St. Georges Hall, William Brown Street, Liverpool (England).

1996 - 228 Peace Memorial Park, Taipei (Taiwan). Former Taihoku Park renamed in 1996. Contains the National Taiwan Museum, the Taipei 228 Memorial Museum (at the site of a former radio station that operated under Japanese and Kuomintang rule), and a number of memorials to victims of the 228 Incident of 1947, including the Taipei 228 Memorial that stands at the center of the park (as shown by image).

2001 - Peace Memorial Multiplex, Wainwright, Alberta (Canada). Relatively new ice skating facility; did it receive its name earlier?

2002 - Hiroshima National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Hiroshima (Japan). Largely underground. Includes fountain, Hall of Remembrance, Victims' Information Area, temporary exhibition area, and library. Click here for the Wikpedia article.

2002 - Nagasaki National Peace Memorial Hall for the Atomic Bomb Victims, Nagasaki (Japan). Click here for the Wikpedia article.

November 1, 2002 - Peace Memorial Gymnasium, St. John the Theologian Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 353 East Clinton Avenue, Tenafly, New Jersey (USA). "Sporting new art and a new name [sic], Peace Memorial Gymnasium is adorned with 63 recently unveiled gold plaques etched with well-known words of peace from Greek Orthodox & other leaders..., circular stained-glass windows, and a 60-by-16-foot mural, its centerpiece a large white dove outlined in 24 karat gold and painted in oil. The dove, carrying an olive branch, was painted by Guillermo Esparza of New York City.

May 31, 2006 - Portland Peace Memorial Park, just south of Steele Bridge, Portland, Oregon (USA). Surrounded by expressways. Dedicated on Memorial Day. "Orchestrated by the Oregon chapter of Veterans for Peace. ...thought to be the largest memorial to the idea of peace in America [sic!]." Or called Portland Memorial Peace Park?

November 2006 - Chukiren Heiwakinenkan / Chukiren Peace Memorial Museum, Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture (Japan). "The core of the museum’s collection, housed in a 180-sq meter warehouse, is the testimony of 300 Japanese veterans who confessed while in custody in China to committing atrocities there, including rape, torture and infanticide. Graphic video and photographic evidence showing some of the most brutal crimes of the Imperial Japanese Army is held in the archives as a resource for scholars."

Future - Peace Memorial Park, 85 East 36th Street, Hamilton, Ontario (Canada). "This 2.17 hectare (5.37 acre) former Peace Memorial School site is being re-developed as a passive neighbourhood park. Peace Memorial School [qv] was constructed in 1918 [sic] as a memorial to those who gave their lives during the First World War."

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