The Ottawa Memorial

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Ottawa Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Ottawa Memorial (Ottawa, Canada)
For missing WW2 Canadian air personnel
Unveiled	1 July 1959
Location	45°26′27″N, 75°41′46.43″W near Ottawa, Canada

The Ottawa Memorial is a monument in Ottawa, Canada that "commemorates by name some 800 men and women who lost their lives while serving or training with the Air Forces of the Commonwealth in Canada, the West Indies and the United States and who have no known grave". It is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It was unveiled in 1959 by Queen Elizabeth II and is on Sussex Drive overlooking the Ottawa River near Rideau Falls.

The monument lists the names, ranks and nations of origin of over 800 servicemen and servicewomen by year of death on two semi-circular walls that surround a small pool containing a sculpture of the world with an eagle perched on top. Plaques in English and French contain the following text:

[edit] Monument Text

The Ottawa Memorial

In the Second World War air power played and increasingly important role in offensive and defensive capacities.

At the start of the war there was a shortage of aircraft and trained pilots. The United Kingdom was considered too vulnerable to attack and so training centres were established elsewhere. Bases in North America trained over 137,000 Commonwealth air crew, making a vital contribution to the Allied victory, while much needed aircraft and supplies were ferried to the United Kingdom from the United States and Canada by both civilian and air force personnel.

This memorial, unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II in 1959, commemorates by name some 800 men and women who lost their lives while serving or training with the Air Forces of the Commonwealth in Canada, the West Indies and the United States and who have no known grave. Their names are arranged according to year of death, force and rank.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible for the maintenance of graves and memorials in some 150 countries which commemorate around 1,700,000 members of the Commonwealth forces who dies in the two world wars. The war dead commemorated here and elsewhere include those of several different faiths and of none.