Cross of Sacrifice

A tradition throughout the Commonwealth

Monuments in memory of soldiers fallen in battle were erected in many cities and towns after World War I. Crosses of Sacrifice became a tradition throughout the Commonwealth beginning in the 1920s. On Dominion Day, July 1, 1924, a Cross of Sacrifice was inaugurated at the main entrance to the Plains of Abraham using funds collected by a committee from the people of Quebec City in the area around the Grande Allée. This monument was designed to pay tribute to some 60,000 Canadians, 219 of them Quebecers, who died in the Great War. It reads, “À nos morts de la grande guerre/ To the citizens of Quebec who fell in the Great War.” Je me souviens, the motto of Québec inscribed on the base, evokes the memory of the fallen soldiers. The cross is carved as a monolith and has a bronze sword standing in front of it.

The monument was inaugurated with the Royal 22nd Regiment, the crew of the HMS Valerian and more than 200 veterans in attendance. With many other dignitaries present, including Quebec Lieutenant Governor Narcisse Pérodeau, the cross was unveiled by Canada’s Governor General, Julian Byng, Baron of Vimy. A two-minute silence was observed and flowers were placed at the foot of the monument. A ceremony was held in the fall of 1947 to include in the tribute those who fell in World War II. On November 9, a token quantity of French soil was buried under the knoll on which the cross stands, on the side facing the Grande Allée. Finally, the sacrifice of those who fell in the Korean War (1950-1953) was also commemorated. 

Every year, at 11 a.m. on Remembrance Day, November 11, the anniversary of the Armistice, a ceremony takes place around the cross, attended by war amputees, veterans, dignitaries and soldiers paying tribute to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives.