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YouTubeThe Veterans Cemetery Esquimalt, British Columbia
"God's Acre"
Canada's naval history has its roots in the Veterans Cemetery in Esquimalt, British Columbia. This old cemetery, which dates back to 1868, began as a resting place for men of the sea but many others who have served in Canada's army and air force have joined them over the years.
The picturesque chapel of Veterans Cemetery.
On July 8, 1868, Rear-Admiral George Fowler Hastings of the Royal Navy purchased an acre of land from the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, a subsidiary of the Hudson's Bay Company, for use as a cemetery for "deceased officers and men". Up until this time, naval officers had been buried at the Quadra Street Cemetery, now known as Pioneer Square. The sailors were buried on Brothers Island at the entrance of Esquimalt Harbour.
Thus, a piece of land which was once a turnip field on the Constance Cove farm soon became known to sailors as "God's Acre". At the outset, the cemetery was divided into three sections - one for Episcopalians, one for Roman Catholics and one for Dissenters. The chapel, which was built of woods from the Commonwealth including camphor, teak, iron wood and mahogany, was left unconsecrated for the common use of all sects. The land and building cost a total of $250.
In 1889, the bodies of Royal Navy sailors buried on Brothers Island were removed and reburied in the Royal Naval Cemetery, as it was then called. It 1901, after the Royal Artillery had arrived to defend the Esquimalt naval base, the British War Office purchased the easterly section of the cemetery. When the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Army replaced their British counterparts, each continued to operate the two sections of the cemetery as separate units.
This small undated iron cross is one of the more modest markers in the cemetery.
In 1927, the Gorge Vale Golf Club acquired 150 acres of land surrounding the cemetery from the Hudson's Bay Company. As a result, today, the cemetery is situated between the 12th and 17th holes of the golf course. When Department of Veterans Affairs took over the cemetery in 1947, the two sections were combined and it became simply, the Veterans Cemetery. On October 27, 1961, the Cross of Sacrifice in the cemetery was unveiled by the late Major-General George R. Pearkes, on of Canada's Victoria Cross winners and a past Minister of National Defence and lieutenant-governor of British Columbia.
Within the cemetery, the lowly and the lordly lie side by side. The markers in the oldest part of the cemetery range from the impressively ornate, erected by whole ship's companies, to a small undated iron cross for a sailor who died accidentally at 18 years of age.
Many of those who lie here died young and their deaths reveal the hazards of life on the old tall-masted sailing vessels in the late 19th century. A cross in the cemetery commemorates four young seamen who either drowned or fell from the spars while serving in HMS Zealous. There are many graves of other young seamen who died accidentally at sea. In 1888, the officers and men of HMS Caroline erected a marker in memory of Thomas Drury, 24, who was killed accidentally while firing a salute aboard ship; another stone marks the grave of Thomas Bennett, a stoker, who was 25 in 1899 when he was fatally scalded by a steam pipe.
Sunlight casts a warm glow inside the little chapel.
One of the more unusual markers in the cemetery belongs to a 22-year-old Japanese midshipman, Haruma Kusano, who died in Esquimalt on November 11, 1892 while serving in HIJMS Kongo. He died of pneumonia after contracting a cold aboard a gunboat on the long trek from Japan. The original stone marker, inscribed in Japanese, can be found propped up against a tree not far from the handsome stone monument which marks his grave today.
The chapel in the Veterans Cemetery is a quaint and charming structure, nestled beneath gracious old evergreens. It was completely renovated in 1945. On the inside, the chapel's walls are lined with plaques commemorating the Royal Navy ships and those of their crews who are buried in the tree-shaded cemetery. The walls are also decorated with old ships' lanterns, fuelled by whale oil in their time - reminders of the days of "wooden ships and iron men".
The spirit of remembrance is very much present in the atmosphere of nostalgic charm
which pervades the beautiful cemetery. Each year a service is held on November 11th
in remembrance of the men and women who lost their lives defending their country.
Directions to the Veterans Affairs Cemetery.
