New lighting at National War Memorial reflects 1924 design
New lighting has been installed at the National War Memorial in St. John’s, designed and created based on the original light globes that would have been in place when the Memorial was first constructed in 1924. The creation and installation of the globes has been a team effort between the province, Memorial University and the Royal Canadian Legion-NL Command.
The idea to create and install the new lights arose when the Royal Canadian Legion–NL Command discovered the last original National War Memorial globe in their archives. The replacement of the modern globes to ensure appropriate historical interpretation at the site became a reality as a commemorative project to celebrate Memorial University’s 100th anniversary in 2025.
Now replicated on site at the National War Memorial, the globes are in the shape of flames which tie directly to Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Nangle’s vision for the site, which was based on Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields (which references the torch).
In 2022, the province, in partnership with the Royal Canadian Legion–NL Command, the Government of Canada and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission announced the refurbishment of the province’s National War Memorial, including the incorporation of a tomb, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of its official unveiling in 1924.
On July 1, 2024, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians gathered at the National War Memorial in St. John’s to mark the memorial’s centennial anniversary. This historic event included the laying to rest of an unknown Newfoundland First World War soldier whose remains were repatriated from Northern France.
“The Royal Canadian Legion – NL Command will forever be proud of its significant efforts, on behalf of veterans and their families, in relation to the refurbishment of the Newfoundland National War Memorial, Memorial’s 100th Anniversary, and the repatriation of the remains of Newfoundland’s First World War unknown soldier,” says Gerald Budden President, Royal Canadian Legion-NL Command. “On behalf of NL Command, I sincerely thank the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and Memorial University for their efforts in replicating the original war memorial globes. “The globes are an important issue for accurate historical interpretation of our iconic National War Memorial. Lest we forget.”