The Calgary Soldiers' Memorial is a war monument in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 that was dedicated on April 9, 2011, the anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge

Battle of Vimy Ridge

The Battle of Vimy Ridge was a military engagement fought primarily as part of the Battle of Arras, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the Canadian Corps, of four divisions, against three divisions of the German Sixth Army...

. The monument is dedicated to Calgary area soldiers who have given their lives in war and military service overseas. The monument is located on Memorial Drive

Memorial Drive (Calgary)

Memorial Drive is a major road in Calgary, Alberta. Besides having an important role in city infrastructure, the tree lined sides of Memorial Drive serve as a living testament to the many soldiers who died during World War I and give it a parkway look on the western section...

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Concept

The Calgary Soldiers' Memorial consists of several stone tablets bearing the names of soldiers from Calgary area regiments killed during times of war. These regiments include, in order of precedence

Order of precedence

An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments...

, The King's Own Calgary Regiment, 41 Combat Engineer Regiment, 746 (Calgary) Communications Squadron, The Calgary Highlanders

The Calgary Highlanders

The Calgary Highlanders is a Canadian Forces Land Force Primary Reserve infantry regiment, headquartered at Mewata Armouries in Calgary, Alberta, Canada...

, 14 (Calgary) Service Battalion and 15 Field Ambulance. Also represented on the tablets are those units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force

Canadian Expeditionary Force

The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...

 perpetuated by the current Calgary units of the Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

, including the 10th Battalion, CEF

10th Battalion, CEF

The 10th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force was a Canadian field force unit created during the First World War. Technically distinct from the Militia from which its soldiers were drawn the unit served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force , specifically in the 1st Canadian Division from 1914 to...

 and 50th Battalion, CEF

50th Battalion, CEF

The 50th Canadian Battalion was a battalion of the First World War Canadian Expeditionary Force. The battalion was commanded by Colonel E.G. Mason at the beginning of the war. Later in the war, he was put with another battalion and Lieutenant-Colonel Page took over the battalion. The battalion...

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History

The memorial was originally conceived as one of several centennial projects during the 100th anniversary celebrations of the Calgary Highlanders. The City of Calgary joined in the planning, adapting the design into its own renovations of Memorial Drive.

A ceremonial groundbreaking took place on March 8, 2010, after which construction was begun.

Construction

The final design of the memorial was created by the Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative, and integrated into the City of Calgary's "Memorial Drive - Landscape of Memory" project, which had begun in 2004 as a revitalization of nine kilometres of Memorial Drive. The location is also significant and features into the design, looking towards Mewata Armoury, a "mustering point from which many Canadian soldiers departed to serve their country."