43°8′28″N 80°16′5″W / 43.14111°N 80.26806°W / 43.14111; -80.26806
97-780: The Bell Memorial (also known as the Bell Monument or Telephone Monument ) is a memorial designed by Walter Seymour Allward to commemorate the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell at the Bell Homestead National Historic Site , in Brantford, Ontario , Canada. In 1906, the citizens of the Brantford and Brant County areas formed the Bell Telephone Memorial Association, which commissioned
194-463: A National Historic Site of Canada . One of the first successful voice transmissions of any notable distance was made on 4 August 1876, between the telegraph office in Brantford, Ontario and Bell's father's homestead over makeshift wires. He later refined the telephone's design at Brantford after producing his first working prototype in Boston . Canada's first telephone factory, created by James Cowherd ,
291-544: A pantograph to make calculations that allowed for reproducing the figures at double life-size. All this work was carried out inside temporary studios built around each figure, including those at the top of the pylons. The first figure to be completed was Canada Bereft , which stands at the top of the front wall of the Vimy Memorial and recalls traditional depictions of the Virgin Mary in mourning. Canada Bereft
388-493: A $ 30 million restoration, the monument was re-dedicated on 9 April 2007. Allward had made 150 design sketches before submitting the final plan which won the commission from the Canadian federal government. The Canadian Battlefields Memorials Commission eventually selected Vimy Ridge as the location for the memorial, due largely to its elevation above the plain below, as the preferred site of Allward's design. The site (Hill 145)
485-617: A banquet in Brantford Kirby House (later to become the Hotel Kirby), which Bell attended as a guest of honour. That same year the association was formally organized and incorporated by an Act of the Legislature of Ontario with the stated aim of commemorating the invention of the telephone in Brantford and to name Bell as its inventor. What was highly unusual in this instance was the building of an important monument to
582-603: A central fixture for many civic events and remains an important part of Brantford's history. It was provided a heritage designation under the Ontario Heritage Act in 2005 and listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places in 2009. Alexander Graham Bell conceived the technical aspects of the telephone and invented it in July 1874, while residing with his parents at their farm, Melville House, now
679-601: A day intended to celebrate Samuel de Champlain into a celebration of James Wolfe . At other times, and unlike future viceroys, the Governor General's influence expanded blatantly into government policy. Grey initially supported Asian immigration to Canada. He opposed the head tax imposed by the Chinese Immigration Act of 1885 on Chinese immigrants to Canada. He was invited to visit the province of British Columbia but declined as protest against
776-657: A few dozen metres from the memorial. Also in attendance in full war regalia was Chief A.R. Hill of the Six Nations Tribes of the Grand River , where Bell, not long after his arrival in Canada, had been made an honorary tribal chief. As a public holiday had been declared for the unveiling, the city's normal activities were shut down for the entire day. After the Governor-General completed his address at
873-409: A half metres high, which portray "....the elusive dream of the inventor's youth—Inspiration whispering to Man, his power to transmit sound through space. Three ephemeral ghostly figures, two of which are cast in mid-relief and one in high ( alto-rilievo ) relief , depict Knowledge, Joy and Sorrow , transmitted to man by the telephone. Two heroic figures flanking the broad flight of steps leading up to
970-786: A healthy 178 centimetres (5 ft 10 in) in height in 1914, he enlisted in Brantford's 125th Battalion for service overseas where he fought in Belgium and France with the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I. Kinsella was wounded and shell-shocked at the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium and, after being invalided and discharged back to Canada in 1916, met Allward in Toronto while convalescing and then worked as his model, saying later "The posing
1067-518: A living person, an event usually conducted only for imperial leaders. The duality of the monument with its dedication to both the inventor and to his invention, with its emphasis on the latter, likely persuaded Alexander Graham Bell, normally modest, to accept the invitation to its public unveiling. The association was organized with the support of George, Prince of Wales (later King George V), Viceroy of India and former Governor-General of Canada Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto , and
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#17327795345401164-409: A message over the telephone. The two female figures were positioned some distance apart in order to denote the telephone's power to traverse great distances. Uniting the entire work together is the line of the earth's curvature on the bronze casting, depicting the extent of the telephone's worldwide use. Allward's original proposed design for the monument also included the flags of the greatest nations of
1261-405: A message. The Bell Telephone Memorial's grandeur has been described as the finest example of Allward's early work, propelling the sculptor to fame. The memorial itself has been used as a central fixture for many civic events and remains an important part of Brantford's history, helping the city style itself as "The Telephone City". The most important and famous commission Allward received was for
1358-581: A museum. Allward was assisted by his studio assistant, Emanuel Otto Hahn , another highly notable sculptor who worked on the monument with him until 1912 when Hahn left for the Ontario College of Art . The project proceeded slowly in part due to Allward's concurrent work on several other commissions at the same time, including the South African War Memorial , a major monument erected in Toronto. In April 1915 Allward reported to
1455-501: A number of legacies, the most prominent being the Grey Cup . Grey was the younger and only surviving son of General Sir Charles Grey —a younger son of former British prime minister the second Earl Grey and later the private secretary to Prince Albert and later still to Queen Victoria —and his wife, Caroline Eliza Farquhar, eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Harvie Farquhar, Bt . He was born at Cadogan House, Middlesex. Many members of
1552-577: A part of his broader desire for a reform movement. He supported Canadian football and established the Grey Cup , which is awarded to the winner of the Senior Amateur Football Championship of Canada; it is today presented to the champions of the professional-level Canadian Football League . In 1963 Grey was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame for his contributions to the game. He gave to
1649-507: A relatively new construction method, a cast concrete frame to which the limestone was bonded. The memorial base and twin pylons contain almost 6,000 tonnes of Seget limestone on a bed of about 15,000 tonnes of concrete. The 20 sculptured symbolic figures, representing Christian and universal virtues, were actually carved where they now stand, from the huge blocks of stone. The professional carvers used life-size plaster models produced by Allward in his London studio and an enlarging instrument called
1746-594: A visit to Canada by Prince Fushimi Sadanaru of the Empire of Japan . Throughout his tenure as governor general, Grey supported the arts and, when he departed Canada in 1911, he left behind him the Grey Competition for Music and Drama, first held in 1907. Grey also donated trophies to the Montreal Horse Show and for figure skating. He was a patron of sport, his feelings on health and fitness
1843-439: Is an important panel and cannot be too well done". For various reasons the memorial was not completed until 1917, with World War I , material shortages, an embargo on exports of French moulding sand and transportation limitations creating lengthy delays. The Brantford monument was finally unveiled in a driving rain on 24 October 1917 by then Governor General of Canada Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire before an audience in
1940-410: Is now one of the most well-known sculptures in Canadian art. The figures atop the pylons represent the universal virtues of charity, faith, honour, hope, justice, knowledge, peace, and truth. Truth and Knowledge have the wings of angels—an attribute usually associated with representations of Victory, which is not included in this monument to grief. Most of the original plaster figures are stored at
2037-615: The Aerial Experiment Association , J.A.D. McCurdy , Gilbert Grosvenour , president of the National Geographic Society , and other dignitaries. Alexander Graham Bell (in both of his addresses that day) reminded the attendees that "Brantford is right in claiming the invention of the telephone here... [which was] conceived in Brantford in 1874 and born in Boston in 1875", and later addressing
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#17327795345402134-507: The Armistice of World War I , it became a spontaneous gathering point for celebration. It was also used to help raise funds for Brantford's First World War Cenotaph, another of Walter Allward's works. The memorial received historical designation for its cultural heritage value, by the City of Brantford on 31 October 2005, under the Ontario Heritage Act . It was also designated and listed on
2231-566: The Bell Memorial commemorating Alexander Graham Bell 's invention of telephone in Brantford, Ontario (1917). Allward had also completed design work on a memorial to King Edward VII but the onset of the World War I prevented its completion. The figures of Veritas (Truth) and Iustitia (Justice) were cast in bronze for the memorial. They were found in their crates in 1969 buried under a parking lot, and in 1970 were installed outside
2328-787: The Bell Telephone Memorial , has been seen as the finest example of his early works. It brought the sculptor fame and led to Allward later creating the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, his most renowned work. Some of the sculptor's works have also been acquired by the National Gallery in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. In addition to his sculptural works, Allward produced a series of approximately one hundred allegorical drawings exploring
2425-557: The British Empire into an Imperial Federation . Grey thus split with Prime Minister William Gladstone in 1886 over Irish home rule and became a Liberal Unionist , but the shift was short-lived as Grey failed to win his constituency again in the 1886 general election . Eight years later, in October 1894, Grey succeeded his uncle, the 3rd Earl Grey , as the 4th Earl Grey and returned to Parliament when taking his seat in
2522-643: The Canadian National Vimy Memorial in Pas-de-Calais, France , commemorating Canada's sacrifices and human losses in the First World War, a project he worked on 16 years until its completion in 1936. The Bell Memorial is located within the Bell Memorial Gardens, a small park in downtown Brantford, in an area originally slated to be the city's new municipal centre, but which was subsequently built further away. Other names considered for
2619-622: The Canadian Register of Historic Places on 12 January 2009. In 2010 both Parks Canada and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada celebrated Allward's work by affixing a plaque to the monument honouring the sculptor himself. It noted Allward's designation as a person of national historic significance due to his "...original sense of spatial composition, his mastery of the classical form and his brilliant craftsmanship." Walter Seymour Allward Walter Seymour Allward CMG RCA (18 November 1874 – 24 April 1955)
2716-542: The Dominion of Newfoundland (then not yet a part of Canada) and several times to the United States to visit President Theodore Roosevelt , with whom Grey developed a strong bond. Grey often exercised his right, as representative of a constitutional monarch, to advise, encourage, and warn. He desired social reform and cohesion. He put his support behind prison reforms in Canada to provide greater social justice. He
2813-452: The House of Commons of Canada which stated "that this house desires particularly to express its appreciation of the services of Mr. Walter S. Allward, who, as the designer and Canadian War Memorials architect of the memorial at Vimy, has given to the world, a work of art of outstanding beauty and character. Through the years to come the Vimy Memorial will remain the symbol of Canada's efforts in
2910-651: The House of Lords , while simultaneously undertaking business ventures around the British Empire as Director of the British South Africa Company from 1898, he experienced a steep learning curve during high tension with the Boers. As administrator in Rhodesia he was directly responsible to Cecil Rhodes for conduct of the colony's business from 1894 to 1897. On his return in 1899 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of his native Northumberland. Grey
3007-532: The House of Lords . As a friend of Cecil Rhodes , Lord Grey became one of the first four trustees responsible for the administration of the scholarship funds which established the Rhodes Scholarship and he was invited by Rhodes to be a member of the board of directors and director of the British South Africa Company , coming to serve as the main liaison between Rhodes and the Secretary of State for
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3104-783: The Independent Order of Foresters for the opening of the Temple Building in Toronto (1899), and the Old Soldier , commemorating the War of 1812 in Toronto's Portland Square (now Victoria Memorial Square ) (1903). Also in 1903, he was elected an associate of the Royal Canadian Academy and in 1918 became a full academician. Now well established he received commissions to do busts of Lord Tennyson , Sir Charles Tupper , Sir Wilfrid Laurier and others. On
3201-713: The New Technical School , prepared Allward for his lifelong career as a monumental sculptor. Allward's first commission was for the figure of Peace on the Memorial of the Battles in the North-West (1895) in Queen's Park , Toronto. He won this competition at the age of nineteen, despite possessing minimal training as a sculptor. Other early works included a life-sized figure of Dr Oronhyatekha commissioned by
3298-849: The Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa. Allward also designed numerous municipal cenotaphs around the country, including the Stratford Memorial (1922), the Peterborough Memorial (1929) and the Brant War Memorial (1933). In 1906 the citizens of the Brantford and Brant County areas formed the Bell Memorial Association to commemorate the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in July 1874 at his parents' home, Melville House, in Brantford, Ontario . Allward's design
3395-486: The ninth since Canadian Confederation . He was a radical Liberal aristocrat and a member of a string of liberal high society clubs in London. An active and articulate campaigner in late Victorian England, he was associated with many of the leading Imperialists seeking change. Albert Grey was born into a noble and political family, though at birth not in direct line to inherit the earldom. His father, General Charles Grey,
3492-548: The Association. In the present day the plaque is now found on the side of the rightmost granite mount for one of the heroic figures. The foundation, steps, pedestals and walls are composed of durable Stanstead granite. On the main portion, to the right and left, two circular panels are inscribed: " Hoc Opus Machinae Patri Dedicatum Est " (this monument has been dedicated to the author of the invention) and " Mundus Telephonici Usu Recreatus Est. " (the world has been recreated using
3589-641: The British PR Society. 4. Public House Trust [temperance refreshment houses], which is "a necessary adjunct to the first two items of his programme." On 28 March 1916, he was appointed by King George V as Chancellor of the Order of St. Michael and St. George . Grey died in August 1917 at his family residence. (On his deathbed, he penned a "stirring" letter to the editor of the London Times on
3686-529: The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. The final step called for carving the names of 11,285 Canadians who were killed in France and are buried in unknown sites on the memorial's walls. The time required to build the massive concrete and steel base, to obtain some 6,000 tons of stone from Croatia, to build roads and clear the site of mines and graves, as well as other issues, led to significant delays. In 1930, Prime Minister R. B. Bennett insisted that
3783-827: The Colonies , Joseph Chamberlain , in the periods immediately before and after the Jameson Raid on the Transvaal . As the Administrator of Southern Rhodesia , Sir Leander Starr Jameson , was disgraced by the Jameson Raid, the British government, then headed by the Marquess of Salisbury , in 1896 asked Lord Grey to serve as Jameson's immediate replacement, staying in that role until 1897. Two years later, Grey
3880-664: The Crown a horse-drawn carriage he had purchased from the Governor-General of Australia , which is still today used as the state landau, and added a study and conservatory to Rideau Hall , the sovereign's and governor general's Ottawa residence; the latter was torn down in 1924. Grey and his wife were commended for their work in Canada and for their championing social reforms. Laurier said Lord Grey gave "his whole heart, his whole soul, and his whole life to Canada." On leaving office in 1911 Earl Grey and his family returned to
3977-585: The Dominion of Canada ," which followed on the passing of the Militia Act in 1904. At the request of Sir Robert Baden-Powell , Grey also undertook the role of Chief Scout of Canada. During the time Grey occupied the viceregal office (1904-1911) Canada experienced large-scale immigration, industrialisation, and economic development, and secured increased independence from the United Kingdom. It
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4074-565: The Duke, said "...on behalf of the Association ...in presenting to His Excellency [with] a silver telephone... I hope that in using it he will remember that the telephone originated in Brantford and that the first transmission to a distance was made between Brantford and Paris." In appreciation to the people of Brantford, Bell's wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell , made a contribution of $ 500 to the city's support fund for its soldiers then fighting in Europe. At
4171-596: The Earl of Minto . (Minto was married to Grey's sister, Mary Caroline Grey.) The appointment came at a good time for Grey, as a series of failed investments in South Africa had left him penniless; a gift from his wife's aunt, Lady Wantage (widow of the Lord Wantage ), was used to supplement his salary as governor general. On 16 June 1905 Grey was designated as "Governor General of Canada and Commander-in-Chief of
4268-753: The European conflict. Born in the UK he had become one of approximately 100,000 disadvantaged British children and orphans, a " Home Child ", sent to Canada and other Commonwealth countries to find better lives in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. After arriving in Ontario in 1908 he resided in a series of Fegan Homes (named after James William Condell Fegan of Britain), including one in Toronto where he likely later met Allward. Kinsella eventually settled in Brantford County to perform farmwork. Underaged, but
4365-425: The Inventor and Inspiration . "It looks to me..." he spoke to his friend, "...like an angel trying to pull along a pig-headed Englishman." The monument also launched its designer-sculptor to fame. It was designed and crafted under Walter Seymour Allward (1875–1955), likely Canada's best monumental sculptor of the era. Besides the Bell Memorial he created numerous other important monumental works, his greatest being
4462-416: The Member of Parliament for East Gloucestershire. Together, they had five children, one of whom died in early childhood. Grey stood for parliament at South Northumberland in 1878 (at the age of 28). He received the same number of votes as his opponent Edward Ridley , but Grey declined a scrutiny and was not returned. It was not until the general election of 1880 that Grey, the Liberal Party candidate,
4559-407: The Quebec celebrations, and Grey believed the official ceremony would promote Franco-Anglo-American friendship. The government arranged for the attendance of the Prince of Wales (later King George V), American and French warships, and a host of visiting dignitaries. The Ligue saw the ceremony as solely a tribute to the Empire. Bourassa and other Quebec nationalists complained that Grey had transformed
4656-434: The United Kingdom, where he became president of the Royal Colonial Institute (now the Royal Commonwealth Society ). He did not retire from public affairs. He lobbied and organized toward several goals: 1. to help those who are endeavoring to fight the slums. 2. to help the worker forward in the path of his natural evolution from the status of worker to that of partner. 3. proportional representation – by "the removal of
4753-437: The arts. After consideration a unanimous choice was made to award the commission to Walter Seymour Allward . The millionaire banker and philanthropist Sir Byron Walker was likely persuasive in swaying the unanimous decision to the sculptor. Walker had earlier contacted a prominent Brantford banker, praising Allward's previous works, and advised him that "because of the national character of the work I am particularly interested in
4850-495: The benefit of their inhabitants, instead of for the benefit of the United Kingdom. Grey was educated at Harrow School and then Trinity College, Cambridge , where he studied history and law. After graduating in 1873, Grey became private secretary to Sir Henry Bartle Frere and, as Frere was a member of the Council of India , Grey accompanied Prince Albert Edward, Prince of Wales , on his tour of India . In 1877, Grey married Alice Holford , daughter of Robert Stayner Holford ,
4947-439: The best possible outcome artistically". The commission award for the memorial had been made in 1908 and a contract to Allward authorized in 1909, based on an initial cost estimate of $ 25,000 with the provision that the work would be completed by 1912. Also in 1909 the association purchased Alexander Melville Bell 's former homestead and farm, Melville House, and transferred its ownership to the City of Brantford for conversion into
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#17327795345405044-410: The close and serious consideration of social reformers, as those affecting the condition of women. The possession of a vote by women who are heads of households will lead to the formation of associations and unions for the protection and advancement of the interests of their sex." Another reform he supported was electoral reform, favoring proportional representation and Single transferable voting . H
5141-400: The committee that the two heroic figures to be mounted on pedestals had been successfully cast and that foundation work for the site had been tendered. But in regards to the central bronze casting, which was to become the largest ever created in North America up to that point, he could not estimate when it would be complete, writing in a letter "I am giving all my time to it; I cannot do more. It
5238-432: The disparity between Parliamentary constituencies with 40,000 electors, on the one hand, and on the other, other constituencies with less than as many hundreds." (through creation of equal-sized single-member districts. Earl Grey was also a proponent of PR in the sense of elected representation reflecting how votes are cast. In 1916, he was honorary president of the Proportional Representation Society of Canada and president of
5335-424: The entire British Empire, his pronouncements frequently raised the ire of Bourassa and the Quebec nationalists. Grey helped plan the tercentennial of Quebec in 1908. This event marked the 300th anniversary of the landing of Samuel de Champlain at what later became Quebec City . The Cabinet agreed to Grey's suggestion to have the Plains of Abraham designated as a national park. this was to be done to coincide with
5432-481: The exclusionary measures implemented by the BC government under premier Richard McBride . However, following the Japanese victory in the Russo-Japanese War , he expressed concerned about the so-called Yellow Peril and worked with the federal Cabinet to explore restrictions on Asian immigration other than the head tax. He was nevertheless appalled by the 1907 anti-Asian riots in Vancouver , organized by BC's Asiatic Exclusion League . Later that same year, he arranged
5529-406: The family had enjoyed successful political careers based on reform, including to colonial policies; Grey's grandfather, while prime minister, championed the Reform Act 1832 and in 1846, Grey's uncle, the third Earl Grey , as Secretary of State for War and the Colonies during the first ministry of Lord John Russell , was the first to suggest that colonies should be self-sustaining and governed for
5626-457: The former British garrisons at Halifax, Nova Scotia , and Esquimalt, British Columbia , after which the Royal Canadian Navy was created by the Naval Service Act . The Act was so identified with Grey that, in Quebec , it was referred to as Grey's Bill and opposed by Henri Bourassa and his Ligue nationaliste canadienne . Although Grey strongly promoted national unity among French and English Canadians, as well as advocating unity within
5723-424: The gore which contains the monument is a smaller gore which has been artistically laid out as a park, the entire area being named as the Bell Memorial Gardens. The model for 'Man, discovering his power to transmit sound through space' was Cyril William George Kinsella, a wounded war veteran and a former resident of Brantford . Kinsella served as Allward's nude model representing Man after being severely injured in
5820-419: The grounds of Queen's Park are statues of General John Graves Simcoe and Sir Oliver Mowat , completed in 1903 and 1905 respectively. Allward's true talent lay in his heroic monuments. These included the design work for the Boer War Memorial Fountain in Windsor , Ontario (1906), the South African War Memorial in Toronto (1910), The Baldwin-Lafontaine Monument on Parliament Hill in Ottawa (1914) and
5917-447: The latter's successor Governor-General Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey , plus an approximate dozen other prominent leaders in Canada and the United States, who endorsed the project with their backing. Donald Howard, 3rd Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal became its first honorary president and upon his death, he was succeeded by the Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn , a former Governor-General of Canada. William Foster Cockshutt ,
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#17327795345406014-593: The local federal Member of Parliament who had originally proposed the memorial in 1904, became the association's president, and was assisted by another MP, Lloyd Harris , who served as vice-president. The design selection committee was led by Byron Edmund Walker , a prominent Canadian banker, philanthropist and patron of the arts. The Association's public appeal quickly raised CA$ 35,000 within its first months, rising to $ 44,000 by September 1909, eventually collecting over $ 65,000 through donations from various citizens worldwide. An additional federal contribution of $ 10,000
6111-416: The main section where the allegorical figures of Inspiration appears over a reclining male figure representing Man, the inventor , and also pointing to the floating figures of Knowledge , Joy , and Sorrow , positioned at the other end of the tableau. At each end of the memorial there are two female figures mounted on granite pedestals representing Humanity , one sending and the other receiving
6208-419: The memorial on 24 October 1917. Allward designed the monument to symbolize the telephone's ability to overcome great distances. A series of steps lead to the main section where the floating allegorical figure of Inspiration appears over a reclining male figure representing Man, transmitting sound through space , discovering his power to transmit sound through space, and also pointing to three floating figures,
6305-419: The memorial until 27 years later, in May 1946. At the memorial's crest is a series of steps leading to the main portion of the monument, a wide mass of white Stanstead granite, faced by the largest single bronze casting created up to that time, which taxed the capacity of its foundry. The sculptor sought to bring out, as the dominant note, the discovery by man of his power to transmit sound through space. Above
6402-473: The memorial. By 1908, the association's designs committee asked sculptors on two continents to submit proposals for the memorial. The submission by Canadian sculptor Walter Seymour Allward of Toronto won the competition. The memorial was originally scheduled for completion by 1912 but Allward, aided by his studio assistant Emanuel Hahn did not finish it until five years later. The Governor General of Canada , Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire , unveiled
6499-410: The messengers of Knowledge , Joy , and Sorrow positioned at the other end of the tableau. Additionally, there are two female figures mounted on granite pedestals representing Humanity positioned to the left and right of the memorial, one sending and the other receiving a message. The Bell Memorial has been described as the finest example of Allward's early work. The memorial itself has been used as
6596-406: The monument and unveiled its shrouds, he withdrew to the city's Old Opera House due to the driving rain, along with large numbers of the crowd. The ceremonies were continued indoors in the city's opera theatre, with Bell addressing the audience again twice more at both the opera house and during a formal reception meal held at the Kerby House. Others spoke with Bell, including his former associate from
6693-426: The monument symbolize humanity sending and receiving a message." The Memorial is located within the Bell Memorial Gardens of Bell Memorial Park at 41 West Street in the City of Brantford. The monument itself is located on a gore of land forming a near-triangularly shaped public park. The triangular plot of land in front of the monument was transformed into a park, with its embankments being sodded. The panel in front of
6790-420: The monument to commemorate Canadians killed in the First World War, a project which would occupy him from 1921 till the memorial's unveiling, by King Edward VIII , on 26 July 1936. There was a huge crowd of approximately 100,000 people present at the ceremony including over 50,000 Canadian and French veterans and their families. The Vimy Memorial was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1996. After
6887-551: The park but which were not accepted included Bell Circle, Graham Bell Park and Prince George Park. Allward's memorial has been described as "a tour de force". One resident described the imagery of the oversized figures on its bronze panel, saying that it "...depicts a mythical passing of the spark of communication from the hands of the gods to the hands of humans". The memorial has served as an important gathering point, landmark and commemoration site for Brantford, used to rally people for fund-raising events, marches and civic events. At
6984-413: The project be completed by 1932 but that deadline was missed by four years. The total cost was approximately $ 1.5 million. In 1944, he was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George "for distinguished service to Canadian Art". He was also a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts . On 30 June 1938, he was recognized by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in a motion before
7081-553: The recipient of a diplomatic gift from China of black tea scented with bergamot oil, which became known as Earl Grey tea ." In 1878, Albert Grey entered into politics as a member of the Liberal Party and, after relinquishing a tied vote to his opponent, eventually won a place in the British House of Commons in 1880. In 1894 Grey inherited an earldom from his uncle, the third Earl , and thereafter took his place in
7178-400: The reclining figure of man is Inspiration , urging him on to greater endeavors, while, at the other end of the panel are the messengers of Knowledge , Joy and Sorrow , communicating to man by telephone. On both sides of the main portion of the monument are two "heroic" female figures representing humanity in bronze on granite mounts, one depicted in the act of sending, the other of receiving
7275-526: The son of John A. Allward and Emma Pittman of Newfoundland . Educated in Toronto public schools, his first job was at the age of 14 as an assistant to his carpenter father. Allward first served an apprenticeship with the architectural firm Gibson and Simpson before working at the Don Valley Brick Works , where he modelled architectural ornaments. There he showed skill in clay mold making. This early training, supplemented by modelling classes at
7372-592: The subject of war at the onset of the Second World War. Allward has been described as "probably Canada's most important monumental sculptor in the first third of [the 20th] century". However, his name was largely forgotten following his death in 1955 until 2001, when he was portrayed as a fictional character in Jane Urquhart 's celebrated novel The Stone Carvers . Allward was born in Toronto ,
7469-479: The telephone). Beneath the central bronze casting is a large carved inscription: "To commemorate the invention of the telephone by Alexander Graham Bell in Brantford 1874." Upon its public unveiling the Bell Memorial created a stir of controversy with its abstract allegorical interpretations. Upon first viewing the bronze tableau, one observer in the crowds remarked on the two main figures on its left side, Man
7566-671: The thousands. The Governor General of Canada arrived in the city by train, along with the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario Sir John Hendrie , the Hon. Senator Robertson of the Privy Council , the Hon. W.D. McPherson of the Ontario Government and other notables. They were greeted by a children's chorus, honour guards, the band of the 125th (Brantford) Battalion and the chimes of Grace Anglican Church located only
7663-473: The time of its unveiling, the memorial was one of the most impressive monuments of the day in Canada, designed to depict the vast distances on the Earth being "annihilated" by the telephone. The allegorical style of the monument's figures depicts several aspects of the telephone in its worldwide use. Its most striking feature is its broad, main bronze cast panel, approximately seven and a half metres wide and two and
7760-511: The war, and its tribute to those who, on the field of battle, sought to preserve the free institutions of mankind." Allward has been designated as an Historic Person in the Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. The art of Walter Allward lives on in numerous substantial monument and designs in Canada and abroad. He was first elected a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 1903, and his bronze diploma work of 1920, The Storm ,
7857-537: The world, a modern element that was likely omitted as it would detract from the monument's neoclassical design. The rear side of the monument contains a small stone foundation with bullfrog gargoyles ; while cut in the stone, on pilasters, are representations of the British Crown and the Maple Leaf . On the rear, also, was placed a bronze plaque giving the names of the patrons and the executive committee of
7954-407: Was a Canadian monumental sculptor best known for the Canadian National Vimy Memorial . Featuring expressive classical figures within modern compositions, Allward's monuments evoke themes of memory, sacrifice, and redemption. He has been widely praised for his "original sense of spatial composition, his mastery of the classical form and his brilliant craftsmanship". Allward's 1917 heroic monument,
8051-411: Was a younger brother of the 3rd Earl , who died without issue. As General Grey was deceased, the titles descended to his eldest living son Albert, then in his forties. Albert was educated at Harrow School before going up to Trinity College, Cambridge , where he graduated MA and LLM. "His grandfather was the 2nd Earl Grey , who was prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834 and, reputedly,
8148-473: Was acquired for the National Gallery of Canada. He is a character in Jane Urquhart 's book The Stone Carvers . Albert Grey, 4th Earl Grey Albert Henry George Grey, 4th Earl Grey , GCB , GCMG , GCVO , PC (28 November 1851 – 29 August 1917) was a British peer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada from 1904 to 1911,
8245-673: Was active in the Proportional Representation Society of Britain. (At the time of his passing, he was its president). He organized a model STV election in Northumberland in 1885, remarkably using untrained coal miners as staff to conduct it successfully. Inspired by the theories of Giuseppe Mazzini , Grey became an advocate of imperialism and was one of the founders of the Imperial Federation League , which sought to transform
8342-512: Was also an advocate for electoral reform, endorsing proportional representation . His past calls for political equality for Irish Catholics were relevant to Canada's internal politics, divided as the population was between Catholics and Protestants, Francophones and Anglophones. As governor General, Grey also encouraged his prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier , to support the Imperial Federation he had long championed, but Laurier
8439-526: Was also appointed as Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland and published a brief biography of a young relative, Hubert Hervey, who was killed in the Second Matabele War . On 4 October 1904 announcement made that King Edward VII had, by commission under the royal sign-manual and signet , approved the recommendation of his British prime minister, Arthur Balfour , to appoint Grey as his representative to Canada, replacing Grey's brother-in-law,
8536-515: Was appointed as Governor General of Canada by King Edward VII in 1904, on the recommendation of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Arthur Balfour , to replace the Earl of Minto as viceroy and occupied that post until succeeded by Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn , in 1911. Grey travelled extensively in Canada and was active in Canadian political affairs, including national unity, leaving behind him
8633-483: Was appointed by the association and selected the three best designs they favored from the models submitted. The committee asked a trio of outside judges, Sir Byron Edmund Walker of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in Toronto, New York State Senator George Allen Davis of Buffalo and Sir George Christie Gibbons of London, Ontario to make a final decision, all of whom were considered patrons of
8730-623: Was donated by France in perpetuity. In June 1922, Allward set up a studio in London , England and toured for more almost two years to find a stone of the right colour, texture, and luminosity for the memorial. He eventually found it in the ruins of Diocletian's Palace . Known as Seget limestone, it was a stone that came from an ancient Roman quarry located in Croatia . The stone had to be first quarried then shipped by boat to France and then transported to Vimy Ridge by truck and by rail. Allward chose
8827-646: Was elected as a member of parliament (MP) for South Northumberland, a seat he held until it was replaced under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 and he moved to be the MP for Tyneside , following that year's election . In 1884 he wrote to the Manchester-based Women's Suffrage Journal declaring his support for women's suffrage, writing that "[t]here are no questions which receive so little attention, or which, in my opinion, so urgently call for
8924-473: Was exacting and took about two months." Kinsella subsequently became bored with civilian life and reenlisted with the Canadian Army, returning to Europe. He was serving with the 1st Canadian Division , Fourth Battalion near the northern French village of St. Marie Chappell at the time of the memorial's unveiling in Brantford. He later returned to Canada at the end of the war, but did not view himself on
9021-436: Was located in Brantford, and operated from about 1879 to 1881 leading to the informal designation as The Telephone City . Discussion of a monument to commemorate both Bell and his invention was first raised in Brantford in 1904 although the Bell Telephone Memorial Association was not formally established until 1906. After gaining Bell's approval, the association and its proposed memorial were publicly endorsed on 9 March 1906 at
9118-420: Was supported in Canada's parliament by Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier . In a city with a population of only 30,000, the fundraising needed for the monument was a major accomplishment. Invitations were sent out to 22 sculptors in Europe, the United States and Canada in 1908, inviting them to submit models for the proposed monument. By May 1909 either nine or ten models had been submitted. A designs committee
9215-442: Was the unanimous choice from among 10 submitted models, winning the competition. The memorial was originally to be completed by 1912 but Allward did not finish it until five years later. The Governor General of Canada , Victor Cavendish, 9th Duke of Devonshire , ceremoniously unveiled the memorial on 24 October 1917. Allward designed the monument to symbolize the telephone's ability to overcome distances. A series of steps lead to
9312-461: Was uninterested. Grey suggested the construction of a railway hotel in the federal capital - the outcome was the palatial Château Laurier , completed in 1912. Grey's years of urging Laurier to get the Cabinet and Parliament to agree to the idea of a Canadian navy were more fruitful. At the Governor General's urging, the Canadian and British governments agreed to have Canada assume control of
9409-592: Was with Grey's granting of Royal Assent to the appropriate Acts of Parliament that Alberta and Saskatchewan were separated from the North-West Territories to become provinces, The Governor General, writing to the King at the time, stated "[each one] a new leaf in Your Majesty's Maple Crown." As Governor General, he travelled extensively around the ever-growing country. He journeyed abroad to
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