24 Peace Monuments Dedicated in 1915-1919 (World War I = 1914-1919)

Click here for peace monuments related to World War I.

Right click image to enlarge.

1915 (2 monumments)

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."

1915 - "Peace," near Lake Merced, San Francisco, California (USA?). By Benny Bufano [1898-1970]. Won first prize ($500) in the "Immigrant in America" contest...over 100 other submissions. Theodore Roosevelt singled out Bufano for praise and asked to meet him... Bufano chopped off his trigger finger and sent it to President Woodrow Wilson at the onset of World War I as a protest against the war." "Graced the entrance of San Francisco Interntional Airport (SFO) for nearly four decades, is now located near Lake Merced."

1916 (4 monumments)

July 1916 - "The Deserter," from The Masses, New York City, New York (USA). Cartoon by Boardman Robinson [1876-1952]. "The creator of the Masses, Max Eastman [1883-1969] - who faced prison along with Robinson, Minor & others - had this to say about what is probably Robinson’s most famous cartoon: "Surprisingly as it may seem, he actually introduced into America the idea, as old as Daumier, that cartoons should have the values of art as well as of meaning. When Mike 'blew in' with a picture of a white-clad, saintly Jesus standing against a stone wall facing the rifles of a brutish firing squad, I felt that number [of The Masses] deserved a place in the history of art."

1916 - Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper National Park, Alberta (Canada).

1930 - $1.00 Canadian postage stamp showing Mount Edith Cavell, Jasper National Park, Alberta (Canada).

1916? - Cavell Glacier, Jasper National Park, Alberta (Canada). "Angel Glacier is a hanging glacier that forms in a cirque on the mountain above. Down below, formed by snow falling off the mountain (and in truth, some ice falling off Angel), is the Cavell Glacier. It sits in the bottom of the valley, tucked up against the cliffs, and calves directly into a small lake called Cavell Pond." ("In the U.S. Rocky Mountains, there is Cavell Glacier.")

1917 (3 monumments)

1917 - Ohio Peace Monument, Cravens House, Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee (USA). Base of monument depicts a female figure surrounded with grain, machinery, and other fruits of peace. Built by State of Ohio.

1917 - Headquarters Building, American Red Cross (ARC), 430-17th Street, Washington, DC (USA). Dedicated "in memory of the heroic women of the Civil War." The building still contains Red Cross offices and a museum. The ARC was established in Washington, DC, on May 21, 1881 by Clara Barton [1821-1912] who became its first president. See Clara Barton National Historic Site (1975).

1917 - Suffragette Flag, National Woman's Party (NWP) founded by Alice Paul & Lucy Burns in 1913.

Date? - "Votes for Women" button.

1917 - Tiffany Windows, American Red Cross (ARC), 430-17th Street, Washington, DC (USA). Depict the most significant values of the Red Cross: Hope, faith, charity and love. Designed & constructed by the renowned studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany [1848-1933], son of the New York City jeweler. Reputed to be the largest set of windows still in their original state.

1918 (8 monumments)

June 30, 1918 - Peace Monument, Santa Cruz Higher Secondary School, Fort Kochi, Kerala (India). "Urges the world at war to embrace peace. The structure in three levels has been built by alumni and teachers of the school, run by Portuguese missionaries. Work on the monument began in 1914, when war broke out in Europe, and was completed in 1918. Inscribed on the monument are sayings by New Testament gospel writers Mathew, Mark, Luke and John, urging the God to shower mercy on people. The major carving is that of a rainbow & clouds with 'peace' inscribed on it. The monument in the courtyard of the school follows the Gothic style of architecture and has three sections. The four columns on each level stands for 12 pupils of Jesus Christ, whose statue stands atop the third level. The structure was constructed with limestone and brick under the supervision of Portuguese missionaries."

<1918 - Statue of Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Square, Mancheser (England). Replica of a statue originally exhibited in New York City in 1916. Cleaned in 2008 for 200th anniversary of end of the Atlantic slave trade.

1918 - Stonehenge, Maryhill, Washington (USA). "A full-size replica of Stonehenge (England) built on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River by Sam Hill [1857-1931], a road builder, as a memorial to those who died in World War I. Not completed until 1930. Hill was buried in 1931 at the base of the bluff, but, because he wished to be left alone, there is no easy path to his resting place. The project began when Hill was mistakenly informed that the original Stonehenge had been used as a sacrificial site. He thus constructed his replica as a reminder that 'humanity is still being sacrificed to the god of war.'" Hill also dedicated the Peace Arch (qv) on the US/Canadian border in 1921.

1918 - Ludlow Monument, Ludlow, Colorado (USA). Honors the 20 victims of the "Ludlow massacre" on April 20, 1914. Vandalized in 2003 with the heads and arms of the statue figures cut and removed, but has undergone repair. Maintained by United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). Next to the monument are a cellar door and stairs that lead down into the "death pit" where 11 children and two women died when fire broke out in the coal miners' tent city during their battle with the Colorado state militia. Visited by EWL

1918 - "The Murder of Edith Cavell," Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey (USA). Black chalk and black crayon over charcoal on cream wove paper by Anerican artist George Bellows [1882-1925]. Drawn for a series of 12 lithographs he produced depicting atrocities committed by the German armies in Belgium.

<1918? - Memorial Window, St. Mary the Virgin Church, Swardeston, Norfolk (England). "Fragile Martyr" Edith Cavell [1865-1915] was "quite the most famous woman to be killed in World War I." "In Swardeston, where she was born [and her father was rector], the window over the altar of the church is dedicated to her." "Completed before the end of the War by Ernest Heasman. Edith Cavell kneels in her nurse's uniform at the foot of the cross, accompanied by smaller, appropriate figures, including St. Agnes, St. Margaret and Florence Nightingale." Image shows a detail from the window. Click here for other Edith Cavell memorials.

October 22, 1918 - Edith Cavell Memorial, Brussels (Belgium). Inscribed "A Miss Edith Cavell. Hommage a Angleterre." Where is this memorial in Brussels? Does it still exist?

November 11, 1918 - "International World War Peace Tree," Evansville, Indiana (USA). Caption: "Charles and Beth Skeels stand under a shady linden, designated the 'peace tree' by German immigrants who planted it as a seedling on her family's property north of Evansville at the end of World War I."

1919 (7 monuments)

March 10, 1919 - World War I Memorial, West Main & South Gilbert Streets, Danville, Illinois (USA). Statue of Peace on top. Two soldiers, a sailor and a nurse on the four corners of the base. Inscription on front: "Whereas: it is the desire of the City of Danville to erect some permanent structure as a Monument and Memorial to the Gallant Soldiers and Sailors of Danville who participated in the World’s War of 1914 and 1918 , and Whereas: the bridge over the Vermilion River at Gilbert Street in said City needs to be replaced - - Therefore: be it resolved by the City Council of Danville Illinois that a new bridge be built over the Vermilion River at Gilbert Street in said City - - Said bridge to be a Monument and memorial to our Soldiers as set forth in the Preamble hereof and to be known as 'The Victory Bridge.' Adopted March 10, 1919." Visited by EWL.

May 1919 - Grave of Edith Cavell, Life’s Green, South Wall, Norwich Cathedral, Norwich, Norfolk (England). Buried after a memorial service at Westminster Abbey on May 15, 1919. Right image shows ceremony on October 9, 2004. Left image copyright © Martin Edwards 2003.

M E M O R I A L

June 23, 1919 - Poplar Recreation Ground Memorial, Poplar Recreation Ground, East India Dock Road,London (England). "A memorial to 18 children killed at Upper North Street School in Poplar on 13 June 1917, by the first daylight bombing attack on London by fixed-wing aircraft... A public fund was set up, raising £1,455 to pay for a memorial. It cost [only] £230, so some of the remaining funds were used to pay for the graves of 16 of the children, & the balance to endow a bed in the children's ward at Poplar Hospital, & another at the Lord Mayor's Home for Crippled Children at Alton, Hampshire. Victorian Gothic design, built from marble & granite. A white steeped stone base leads up to a central column of white Sicilian marble, surrounded by four columns of black Labrador granite. The column is surmounted by an angel with spread wings, and inscribed with the names of the children who died."

1919 - Edith Cavell Memorial, outside the Erpingham Gate, Norwich Cathedral, Norfolk (England). As a nurse during WW-I, Edith Cavell [1865-1915] "treated friend and foe alike and helped allied soldiers to escape, for which she was executed by the Germans." Click here for other Edith Cavell memorials.

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

July 19, 1919 - Pax Memorial, Walmer Golf Course, 10th Avenue, Port Elizabeth (South Africa). "Six metre cement obelisk Celebrates the outbreak of peace. Inscribed with the Word PAX (Peace) & the date 1918. Unveiled at a lavish bonfire & celebration. [But] over time the monument became forgotten & merged with the trees & undergrowth. Renewed interest in 1982 did not result in the memorial being moved, & once again it disappeared into obscurity. Today it is probably only ever seen by golfers playing their obligatory 9 holes."

July 19, 1919 - "Peace Memorial," Stawell, Victoria (Australia). "The monument, which is about six kilometres along Grampians Road & sits beneath trees 100 metres into a paddock, actually marks the site of the first Pleasant Creek settlement, but apparently not even a number of long time Stawell residents are aware of this. ...contains a plaque which states the following: 'Peace Memorial. Erected July 19, 1919 on the site of Treasury, Commercial Street, Pleasant Creek. Population in 1856 - 56,000.' The 56,000 people, mostly Chinese, had settled in the area in search of gold. The main settlement was no more than the 100 metre distance from where Grampians Road is now & was the first settlement known as Pleasant Creek. As the gold source dried up, the population slowly made its way east, forming a new settlement in the area now known as Stawell West & then progressing to where Stawell's Main Street now exists. As not many residents are aware of what the monument actually exists for, there are plans in place for a second plaque to be erected on the site in Grampians Road, recognising it as the site where Stawell's origins began."