On June 15th, 2024, a formal Commemoration Ceremony will take place at the Almonte Cenotaph at 12 noon by the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 240. The community is invited to witness this historic event, the Commemoration Ceremony of Private George B. Monterville. For evermore, our community will acknowledge and honour Private Monterville’s sacrifice, alongside the other sons of Almonte, Ramsay, and Pakenham taken by WWI.
Mme. Grant-Kearney’s grade 6 class from R. Tait McKenzie Public School Through a Remembrance Day project, the class discovered that Almonte resident and WW1 soldier, Private George B. Monterville, was not recognized on the Almonte Cenotaph.
Almonte resident Private George B Monterville fought for Canada from 1914-1919 before returning home following a string of minor injuries and exposure to gas. He died the following year with severe lung disease from war-related injuries.
Although he is buried nearby in the Auld Kirk Cemetery, his name was never added to the Almonte Cenotaph.
Four student representatives from the grade 6 class, Nate Dlugosz, Emma Wiggins, Maya Brown and Ivy Hunt, made their pitch to members of the Royal Canadian Legion on March 12, advocating for their support in having Private Monterville’s name added to the Cenotaph.
“We decided that it’s not fair,” said Brown. “We all thought that we should make it right and make a difference. He sacrificed his life for our future, and we can’t let him be forgotten.”
“His name is in the Book of Remembrance at the Peace Tower in Ottawa,” said Wiggins. “It would make me feel happy if his name was added (to the cenotaph), not so much for me, but for George and his family.”
Master Warrant Officer Mike Wiggins and Grade 6 teacher, Jean Grant-Kearney, also spoke during the presentation.
The students also presented their research, process, and learnings from a Remembrance Day Real-World Learning Project to Mississippi Mills Council. The class was presented with a certificate of appreciation for their civic engagement and thanked for bringing this century’s old oversight to light so it can be corrected.
Photo credit to Mississippi Mills
A short history of George Monterville:
“Private George B. Monterville was born on January 1st, 1883 near Shawville, Quebec. George’s family moved to Almonte in the 1890s where they settled on Wellington Street, very close to the Rosamond Mill where all eight of his family members worked.
At some point, George left the mill to become a butcher. George was involved in hockey and was a longtime member of the 42nd Lanark and Renfrew Regiment of the Non-permanent active Militia. He was amongst the first men from Almonte to enrol in the active force at the outbreak of WW I. Within weeks of the war’s outset, George was in Valcartier, signed his attestation paper on 22 Sep 2014 and in October, set sail for England. George had become a member of the 2nd Battalion (Eastern Ontario Regiment) of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
George arrived in England and spent the winter there training for war. In February 1915, the battalion crossed the English Channel and made its way through France and into Belgium.
George spent the rest of the war on the front line and was involved in numerous battles including Ypres, Passchendaele and Vimy Ridge. Of the 5300 soldiers who served with the 2nd Battalion during the war, over 1300 were killed, many more were wounded. George returned home in April 1919 and he moved in with his sister, Hattie Ritchie, on Ann Street where the Ann Street Apartments are today. He became active in the community, was named as a manger with the Almonte Hockey team and worked to establish the Almonte Chapter of the Great War Veteran’s Association, a predecessor to today’s Legion. Sadly, in April of 1920, George was hospitalized for severe issues with his lungs. He died two months later of injuries that were caused by his numerous exposures to gas during the war. George received hero’s funeral and he is buried at the Auld Kirk Cemetery.
The 100-year-old oversight has been corrected after the students presented their findings; the Branch has since added George Montarville’s name to the Cenotaph. Please join us June 15th, 2024 at 12 noon for the Commemoration Ceremony.