Peace Tower, Memorial Chamber

The Peace Tower was built not only to stand as an architectural feature and landmark, but also to function as a memorial. It thus houses the Memorial Chamber, a vaulted 24 ft by 24 ft room directly above the porte-cochere, with stained glass windows and various other features illustrating Canada's war record, such as the brass plates made from spent shell casings found on battlefields that were inlaid into the floor, and bore the name of each of Canada's major conflicts during the First World War. The stone walls were originally to have been inscribed with the names of all Canada's servicemen and women who had died during World War I; but, without enough space for all 66,000 names, it was later decided to place Books of Remembrance there instead; these books list all Canadian soldiers, airmen, and seamen who died in service of the Crown — whether that of Britain (before 1931) or that of Canada (after 1931) — or allied countries in foreign wars, including the Nile Expedition and Boer War, the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War. The displays were later modified to represent a broader overview of Canadian armed conflict, both foreign and domestic, since Confederation in 1867.

Photo 1317, June 2010

Peace Tower, Memorial Chamber

Photo 1319, June 2010

Peace Tower, Memorial Chamber

Photo 1321, June 2010