Edmonton Journal has reported:

Alberta’s oldest war memorial has been vandalized less than a month before Remembrance Day, prompting a restoration effort at the Beverly Memorial Cenotaph in northeast Edmonton. Damage was found on the cenotaph and in parts of the surrounding park, and a plaque listing people who helped restore the park was taken.

The cenotaph stands at the corner of 118 Avenue and 40 Street. Built by the Beverly Veterans Institute, it opened on Oct. 16, 1920, and is more than a century old.

The memorial is at the end of a short pathway in the centre of a small square bordered by red and white flowers. It lists 28 Beverly soldiers who died in the First World War and five who died in the Second World War.

The vandalism occurred sometime in the past two weeks. Graffiti appeared on park benches, while a commemorative plaque honouring people who served on North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and United Nations peacekeeping missions was partly pried away from the cenotaph.

Joe Luce, chair of the Beverly Memorial Cenotaph Committee, said he noticed the damage Saturday morning and reported it to the city. He has maintained the memorial for 25 years, after serving seven years in the military, and previously led efforts to have the cenotaph designated a municipal historical resource.

“This is the spot where people have come for over 100 years to pay their respects,” Luce said. “Our veterans fought to protect our freedom. The very least we can do is protect the memorials built to honour them.”

Luce checks the site every other week and increases his visits as Remembrance Day approaches. The repair damage remains under inspection, and no cost estimate has been determined.

“The cenotaph itself, that has to be fixed no matter what,” he said. Luce suspects the brass plaques may have been targeted for their potential scrap metal value, though the source of the damage has not been established.

The park has been vandalized before, including an incident in which copper wire was stripped away. Luce said the cenotaph itself has rarely been damaged. “It’s just when they touch the cenotaph in any way, that to me is a bad thing,” he said.

The park land was first donated by a local postmaster. Maintenance passed to the City of Edmonton after the city amalgamated with the former municipality of Beverly in 1961.

Luce wants the city to act quickly on repairs and improve surveillance, and he is also urging residents to keep watch over the park. “This is what I would consider to be the centre of Beverly.”

Replacing the missing plaque could take time, Luce said, and he fears the NATO plaque or others could be stolen next. He hopes the cenotaph and park can be restored before the traditional Nov. 11 service, which he expects will bring more than 4,000 people to the site.

“It’s so important for us to go to pay our respects and to continue the tradition,” he said.