St. Pauls Almonte

Submitted by Ron Ayling, St. Paul’s Cemetery
Cemeteries are unique and interesting places, especially when located in the middle of a large city. Toronto’s Mount Pleasant Cemetery, for example, is an island of peace and calm in a sea of high-rise office towers and apartment buildings. It is a beautiful spot to wander on a sunny morning and take in the fascinating variety of headstones, monuments and large family mausoleums. But it is also a rich and living arboretum of rare trees, shrubs and plants, perhaps the finest collection outside of Hamilton’s Royal Botanical Gardens. Well, St. Paul’s Cemetery obviously does not match the colour, diversity and interest of big city cemeteries. But there are stories that could be told. And here is one of them.

As I was going through some old cemetery files, I came across a hand-written note by a former secretary-treasurer of the cemetery, entitled “The Curious Case of George W…”

“His stone credits him with the VC. He is not a winner of the Victoria Cross. There is always the chance some history buff may describe our cemetery as the burial site of a VC winner. Rather than disturb any living connections of W by (carefully) obliterating the two incised letters, the Cemetery Board decided to let things ride. As secretary-treasurer, I accepted the decision. As a private citizen, I wrote to Defense HQ (Ceremonials) asking what would be done if anyone added a false claim to anyone’s gravestone. There must be some way to prevent it being done by accident or intention or, if done to wipe out the offending inscription. I did not give the name of George W.”
“In reply, by letter, the HQ included W’s name and, if you can believe it, stated that it is an offence to deface any gravestone including any alteration to an inscription, and warning me of the consequences. Further, if you can believe it, I sent the HQ letter to some members of the Board for passing on to other members, in turn. That letter has never turned up again.

The letter is a fatuous answer to my question, otherwise why doesn’t everyone so inclined go on permanent record as a VC, or MD, or PhD? If this appears to be an exaggerated approach, it should be noted that a regular Canadian Army Lt-Col (retired) approached me in some excitement to say, did I know we had a VC in the midst of our departed? It would be unfortunate if the cemetery came to be known as the burial site of an imposter.

I am totally convinced that George W had no part in this (as I believe it to be) innocent mistake. I blame no one for action or inaction except the Defense HQ body who failed to address my proper question, namely, how does any cemetery protect itself from fake inscriptions? The undertaker or monuments company cannot be expected to question every such inscription.”

The story doesn’t end here. Within weeks of receiving the missing letter from Defense HQ, the incised letters V and C from George W’s headstone were removed. But by whom? And when? Someone with a chisel from Defense HQ working late at night in the old part of the cemetery? See this story for yourself once the winter snows have gone.