Long-delayed tomb arrives at N.L. cenotaph in preparation for unknown soldier

The refurbishment of the century-old Newfoundland National War Memorial in St. John's has taken an important step with the arrival of a portion of a tomb that will become the final resting place of an unknown First World War soldier on July 1.

The 3,600-kilogram sarcophagus, made by Nova Scotia-based Heritage Memorials, was delicately lowered into place at the base of the war memorial Tuesday morning.

The vault, carved from black granite that was mined from a Quebec quarry, is inscribed with the words "Known Unto God" in English and French. A forget-me-not flower a symbol of remembrance for the Newfoundland Regiment is also carved into the granite. The plans also call for the province's coat-of-arms to be carved into the front of the tomb.

The cover, which is being carved from Labrador granite called "Blue Eyes" and weighs roughly 1,100 kilograms, is still under construction at the company's Windsor, N.S., plant, and is expected to arrive next month, said Jeff Nelson, vice-president of Heritage Memorials.

WATCH | The National War Memorial just received a key part of its $6-million refurbishment:

Part of tomb delivered for National War Memorial, ahead of historic July 1 ceremony

5 months ago

Duration 0:59

The vault, manufactured by Nova Scotia-based Heritage Memorials, was lowered at the base of the war memorial in downtown St. Johns on Tuesday. The remains of an unknown Newfoundland soldier who died in the First World War will be repatriated from a battlefield in northern France and placed inside the tomb ahead of the 100th anniversary of the memorial on July 1.

Nelson supervised the delivery Tuesday as the vault section of the tomb was gently lowered onto the site by a crane parked on Duckworth Street.Nelson described the tomb as a challenging project but said it's one of the most prestigious in the company's long history.

"We've certainly done some very large projects and unique designs, things that nobody else has done before, but this would probably be the top one as far asthe significance of it to the whole country," said Nelson, a fifth-generation stone fabricator with Heritage Memorials.

The arrival of the vault is an important milestone for a project that's had its share of challenges.

The memorial is undergoing a $6-million refurbishment by a Bay Roberts company called Can-Am Platforms and Construction ahead of the 100th anniversary of the cenotaph.

The sacred memorial grounds have been a construction site for many months, with workers busy throughout the winter in order to complete the project in time for a historic anniversary ceremony on July 1, duringwhich the remains of an unknown Newfoundland Regiment soldier who died in northern France in the First World War will be interred in the tomb.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the centrepiece of the refurbishment project, which is being overseen by the provincial Transportation and Infrastructure Department and will be only the second of its kind in Canada.

The original contract for the tomb was controversially stripped from a Bishop's Falls company last year, and Heritage Memorials was then awarded the contract, but at more than twice the cost, or nearly $240,000.

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