Within Regeneration Hall

The passageway noted in yesterday's post leads to Regeneration Hall, one of two architectural focal points of the War Museum. This is the large triangular spike rising up at the front of the museum as I showed it in my first post. From the upper balcony, one gets a fleeting glimpse of the Peace Tower through the window, a deliberate choice by the architect. Taking the stairs or the elevator to the lower floor brings the visitor down to a series of sculptures that occupy this space. The group gathered below were listening to one of the Museum staffers give a talk about these sculptures and the model of the memorial beside her. Passing by a large painting at the top of the stairs with the theme of sacrifice (you'll see it in a shot below), I descended the stairs.

In the aftermath of the First World War, it was determined to erect a large memorial in France at Vimy Ridge, the battle site where many Canadians gave their lives to achieve victory, a place that holds great meaning for the country. Sculptor Walter Allward created these maquettes as part of his proposal for the Vimy Memorial, and his was the selected choice. Allegorical figures adorn the Memorial at Vimy Ridge, larger than you see here- these maquettes are larger than life, but half-scale of those on the Memorial. They are men and women, both looking like something out of classical sculpture, but each conveying a tone of profound mourning. They are part of the Museum's collection, and most of them are placed in this area.

Another large painting stands on a wall close by. Unveiling Vimy Ridge Monument is a 1937 painting by Georges Bertin Scott. It depicts the 1936 opening of the Memorial. Dignitaries in the painting include King Edward VIII (perhaps the only painting in Ottawa of the short reign of the Duke of Windsor, as there's no portrait of him in Parliament that I know of) leading the way.

Coming out of Regeneration Hall leads into Lebreton Gallery, which is filled with military vehicles and equipment from multiple countries and across time. They include this one man German submarine from the Second World War.

This, for instance, is the RG-31 Nyala Armoured Personnel Carrier, which saw service during the Afghan War.

Two massive plaques occupy a wall in here. Eaton's was a department store chain in Canada (until the present day Eaton clan pretty much screwed up the business and it vanished into oblivion). These two plaques stood in the company's Toronto flagship store, commemorating the 578 employees who were killed while serving during both World Wars. Tomorrow I bring this series to a conclusion.