The Hamilton Police Service (HPS) says it received a mischief report on Thursday concerning the veterans memorial cenotaph at Gore Park.
Photos of the defacement were posted to a scheduled City of Hamilton Veterans Committee meeting this week showing graffiti on the Afghanistan War side of the stone memorial.
According to HPS Corporate Communication & Public Affairs Const. Indy Bharaj, no arrests have been made.
“Mischief to the Cenotaph was reported to police on October 20, 2022,” Bharaj told True North.
“(The) graffiti has been cleaned and Crime Managers have been made aware of the incident. No arrests have been made.”
First erected in May 1923 by then Governor General of Canada Lord Byngh – the cenotaph is a replica of a UK monument found in Westminster, London.
Originally the statue only carried the words “Our Glorious Dead” but it has since been updated with dedications to the Afghanistan War and the Korean War.
Last year, far-left activists illegally toppled a statue of Canada’s first Prime Minister Sir John A Macdonald in Gore Park after City Council voted against having the statue removed in response to national conversations about Macdonald’s role in establishing residential schools.
Protestors tied a rope around Macdonald’s neck before it was pulled down to the sound of cheers and applause. It was then further vandalized by on-lookers on the ground.
HPS officers were present at the time of the statue’s toppling.
The statue has yet to be replaced as council is currently debating whether it should be restored with a plaque highlighting Macdonald’s legacy.
“He is our first prime minister — that has value … he was also very involved in the residential school piece, and it’s important for us to look at these things as educational opportunities rather than trying to wipe them out,” said Mayor Fred Eisenberger in April 2021.
