The Canada Gate and Canada Memorial are located in the Green Park

Green Park

-External links:*...

, London. The gate forms part of the city's Queen Victoria Memorial scheme. The Canada Memorial erected in 1992, behind the gate, is a tribute to the 113,663 members of the Canadian Forces

Canadian Forces

The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...

 killed during World Wars I and II.

The Canada Gate

The Canada Gate, an entrance to the Green Park, one of the four central London "Royal" parks, was presented to London by Canada (then the senior dominion of the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

) as part of a vast memorial scheme dedicated to Queen Victoria, who died in 1901. The entire memorial, more an act of town planning than funerary monument, was designed by Sir Aston Webb

Aston Webb

Sir Aston Webb, RA, FRIBA was an English architect, active in the late 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century...

. It takes the form of a processional route from Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square

Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...

 to Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...

. Beginning at Admiralty Arch

Admiralty Arch

Admiralty Arch is a large office building in London which incorporates an archway providing road and pedestrian access between The Mall, which extends to the South-West, and Trafalgar Square to the North-East. It was designed by Sir Aston Webb, constructed by John Mowlem & Co and completed in 1912...

, the project takes in The Mall and culminates in a "rond point" before the palace, with Sir Thomas Brock

Thomas Brock

Sir Thomas Brock KCB RA was an English sculptor.- Life :Brock was born in Worcester, attended the School of Design in Worcester and then undertook an apprenticeship in modelling at the Worcester Royal Porcelain Works. In 1866 he became a pupil of the sculptor John Henry Foley. He married in 1869,...

's Victoria Memorial at its centre. The Canada Gate was commissioned, in 1905, along with the gates for Buckingham Palace and two other similar, but smaller gates presented by Australia and South Africa. The commission was won by the Bromsgrove Guild

Bromsgrove Guild

The Bromsgrove Guild of Applied Arts was a company of modern artists and designers associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement, founded by Walter Gilbert. The guild worked in metal, wood, plaster, bronze, tapestry, glass and other mediums....

 (a company of modern art

Modern art

Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...

ists and designers associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement

Arts and Crafts movement

Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...

) who completed the work and had the gate in situ by 1911.

The gate stands to the north side of the "rond point" at the junction with Constitution Hill

Constitution Hill, London

Constitution Hill is a road in the City of Westminster in London. It connects the western end of The Mall with Hyde Park Corner, and is bordered by Buckingham Palace Gardens and Green Park. The term "Hill" is something of a misnomer; there is barely detectable slope but most observers would...

; today, a congested roundabout

Roundabout

A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...

, but occasionally closed to traffic when the Mall is required for state processions from the palace. From the gate, a long double avenue stretches the width of the park through to Piccadilly

Piccadilly

Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...

.

The gate is in the same style as those of Buckingham Palace and bears the emblem

Emblem

An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:...

s of the seven Canadian provinces of the time. In design, the Canada gate takes the form of a screen consisting of 5 portals of gilded

Gilding

The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...

 wrought iron

Wrought iron

thumb|The [[Eiffel tower]] is constructed from [[puddle iron]], a form of wrought ironWrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon...

, the central section being the principal and largest gate; the double gates are supported on columns of iron. The two wrought iron bays flanking the central gate contain smaller gates, while the two terminating bays contain smaller pedestrian gates. The screen is terminated by two massive pillars of Portland stone surmounted by patriotic statuary. The flanking inner columns are smaller and, like the iron posts, are crowned by gas lanterns of similar design to those on the pillars of the palace railings.

The Canada Memorial

The Canada Memorial designed by the late Canadian sculptor Pierre Granche

Pierre Granche

Pierre Granche was a French-Canadian sculptor.Having studied at the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal and the Université de Vincennes in Paris, he taught in the art history department of the Université de Montréal for more than twenty years until his death in Montreal.As a sculptor, his works are...

 was unveiled by HM The Queen in 1994. It lies within the park, a few metres behind the Canada Gate. The memorial honours the thousands of members of the Canadian forces killed in during both world wars of the 20th century. The memorial was the result of lobbying and fund raising, much of it in Canada, by the former Canadian media tycoon Conrad Black

Conrad Black

Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, KCSG, PC is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords, and a historian, columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third largest newspaper magnate in the world. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc...

.

Pierre Granche, one of Canada's foremost sculptors, won the commission as the result of a competition, sculpted the memorial from red granite

Granite

Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...

; it is divided by a walkway into two distinct halves, representing Britain and Canada's joint participation in World Wars I and II. The inclined sculpture is inset with bronze maple leaves (the Canadian emblem) and the country's coat of arms. Water flows across the sloping surface and creates an illusion of floating leaves. An inscription at the centre of the memorial reads:

"In two world wars one million Canadians came to Britain and joined the fight for freedom. From danger shared, our friendship prospers."

From 2004, following a change in fortunes of the memorial's patron, Conrad Black, the memorial fell into disrepair and became subject to debate concerning its maintenance. In 2008, the Canadian Government assumed responsibility for the upkeep of the memorial: announcing "Our Government will ensure that the Canada Memorial in London, England, has the long-term care and upkeep it deserves as a lasting and fitting tribute to our nations truest heroes." As of October, 2011, the memorial is fenced off and not operational, despite 50,000 pounds spent by Veterans Affairs Canada in renovations and upkeep.

External links

• Interactive map showing location of Canada Gate and the Canada Memorial accessed 2 February 2010.