W. Thomas Delworth Tree

A tree commemorating W. Thomas Delworth stands in the Village Green in Rockcliffe Park, south of Park Road and east of Springfield Road.

William Thomas Delworth
February 24, 1929 – October 29, 2012

Born near Weston, Ontario, W. Thomas Delworth earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology in 1951 and achieved a Master of Arts degree in modern history in 1956 from the University of Toronto. In 1956 he joined the Foreign Service. Highlights of his service include Ambassador to Indonesia from 1970 to 1974, Ambassador to Sweden from 1984 to 1987 and Ambassador to Germany from 1988 to 1992. Additionally he served as Ambassador/Head of Delegation to major international Conferences on European Security in Geneva, 1974 to 1975; Belgrade, 1977 to 1978; and Sweden, 1984 to 1987. He headed the Asia Pacifid Affairs Bureau in Ottawa from 1978 to 1984, first as Assistant Undersecretary and then as Assistant Deputy Minister for Political Affairs and Special Advisor to the Deputy Minister.

He retired from the Foreign Service in 1993 and taught International Relations at Trinity College, University of Toronto and then Carleton University School of International Affairs. He was appointed Provost of Trinity College from 1996 to 2002 and to Provost Emeritus on his retirement.

In his final years he served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Opera Lyra Ottawa and Chairman of the Board of the Rockliffe Park Foundation.

The tree nearby is to remember
W. Thomas Delworth
Member of the Village Foundation Board (2003-2012)
And a friend of Rockcliffe Park

Soper's Fountain

Soper's Fountain stands in the Rockeries, in Rockcliffe Park, south of Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway and east of Acacia Avenue.

WARREN Y. SOPER
1854 - 1924
ACQUIRED THIS FOUNTAIN FROM
THE PARIS SALON IN 1912
AND IT WAS PRESENTED
BY HIS DAUGHTER TO THE
NATIONAL CAPITAL COMMISSION
IN 1960.
THE SCULPTOR WAS BERTRAND BOUTÉE.

Warren Young Soper
1854-1924
Library and Archives Canada

Soper's Fountain
1912
RENÉ BERTRAND BOUTÉ

This fountain was purchase by Warren Soper at the Paris Salon in 1912 where it was awarded the "Prix de Pris." It was donated to the National Capital Commission when the nearby Soper property was sold in 1960.

Mr. Soper was a pioneering entrepreneur who opened the first telephone exchange in Ottawa in 1880 and the first electric street railway in 1891.

National Capital Commission

Fontaine Soper
1912
RENÉ BERTRAND BOUTÉ

Fontaine achetée par Warren Soper au Salon de Paris de 1912 où elle avait reçu le prix de Paris. Don à la Commission de la capitale nationale lorsque la propriété des Soper, située à proximité, fut vendue en 1960.

Parmi les premiers entrepreneurs de la région, M. Soper inaugura le premier service téléphonique d'Ottawa en 1880 et le premier tramway électrique en 1891.

Commission de la capitale nationale

Queen Elizabeth II Sapphire Jubilee Maple Trees

In Rockcliffe park at the crest of the hill south of Rockcliffe Driveway and west of Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway a small plaque near a maple tree tells of maple trees planted to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's Sapphire Jubilee.

E^IIR

In 2017, sixty-five maple trees were planted here to mark the Sapphire Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

National Capital Commission
Canadian Heritage

E^IIR

En 2017, soixante-cinq érables ont été plantés à cet endroit pour souligner le Jubilé de saphir de Sa Majesté la reine Elizabeth II.

Commission de la capital nationale
Patrimoine canadien

Veterans Memorial Buildings

The Veterans Memorial Buildings occupy most of the two city blocks surrounded by Bay Street, Wellington Street, Kent Street and Sparks Street. An walkway over Lyon Street North joins them together. The buildings incorporate The Canadian Phalanx, dealt with in an earlier post on this blog site.

In 1937 Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King (1874-1950) first engaged the services of urban planner and architect Jacques-Henri-Auguste Gréber (1882–1962) to determine the location of the commemorative monument for the Great War, now known as World War One and the resulting monument now known as the National War Memorial commemorating all wars in which Canada has been involved. In 1938 MacKenzie King mandated Gréber to develop a plan for Ottawa. Disrupted by World War Two, King again contacted Gréber in 1945 and engaged him to create the plan. In 1950 Gréber produced a plan for Ottawa, available in PDF format on the Past Ottawa web site. That plan has been largely implemented.

The construction of the East and West Memorial Buildings that are the federal government's prinicpal memorial to those killed during World War Two comprised an early implementation of the Gréber plan. The architectural firm of Allward and Gouinlock (Hugh Lachlan Allward (1899-1971) and George Roper Gouinlock (1896-1979)) designed the two buildings as a single entity, now known as the East and West Memorial Buildings. The East Memorial Building was constructed from January 1, 1950 to January 1, 1954. The Government of Canada recognized it as a Federal Heritage Building on February 27, 1995. The West Memorial Building's construction took place from January 1, 1954 to January 1, 1958, and was recognized as a Federal Heritage Building on June 6, 1992.

ALL THESE WERE HONOURED
IN THEIR GENERATIONS AND
WERE THE GLORY OF THEIR TIMES
ECCLESIASTICUS 44.7.

TOUS CES HOMMES FURENT HONORÉS
PAR LEURS CONTEMPORAINS TOUS
ONT ÉTÉ LA GLOIRE DE LEUR TEMPS
L'ECCLESIASTIQUE 44.7.

Department of
Justice Canada
Headquarters

Ministère de la
Justice Canada
Administration centrale

ALL THESE WERE HONOURED
IN THEIR GENERATIONS AND
WERE THE GLORY OF THEIR TIMES
ECCLESIASTICUS 44.7.

VETERANS MEMORIAL BUILDINGS
1939 - 1945
ÉDIFICE COMMÉMORATIFS
DES ANCIENS COMBATTANTS

TOUS CES HOMMES FURENT HONORÉS
PAR LEURS CONTEMPORAINS TOUS
ONT ÉTÉ LA GLOIRE DE LEUR TEMPS
L'ECCLÉSIASTIQUE 44.7.

THIS STONE
WAS LAID BY
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
C.D. HOWE
MINISTER OF TRADE & COMMERCE
& DEFENCE PRODUCTION
OCTOBER 19, 1995

CETTE PIERRE
A ÉTÉ POSÉE PAR
LE TRÈS HONORABLE
C.D. HOWE
MINISTRE DU COMMERCE ET
DE LA PRODUCTION DE DÉFENSE
LE 19 OCTOBRE 1955