Visitors to St. Paul’s Cathedral may notice the Book of Remembrance, resting within the In Memoriam table at the front of the Nave beside the Lady Chapel. This treasured, hand-lettered and leather-bound volume was lovingly created by a member of the parish and dedicated with solemn ceremony on November 11, 1950, to honour beloved parishioners who made the ultimate sacrifice during the First and Second World Wars.
Within its pages are photographs and personal stories — details of families, achievements, and faithful service. Each entry preserves not only a name, but a life. These pages are carefully safeguarded so that future generations may know something of these men and women, and more fully understand the depth of their offering: they gave their lives so that we might live in peace.
You may view the St. Paul’s Cathedral Book of Remembrance using the button below.
We will remember them.
Tribute from The Dean, R.C. Brown
At the dedication of the Book of Remembrance, Dean R.C. Brown spoke words that continue to resonate within these sacred pages. Acknowledging the limits of language in the face of sacrifice, he reflected:
“It is not given to frail man to honour the Valiant who, for their country’s weal, gave their strength to the Battle or their blood to the Victory. It is only given to those they ‘Served to save’ to remember with a gratitude that has no language but the syllables of tears.”
Drawing upon the words of Pericles of Athens from 431 B.C., he reminded the congregation:
“For the whole earth is the sepulchre of heroes… it is graven not on stone or brass but on the living heart of humanity.”
Dean Brown concluded with a solemn charge to the parish:
“Twice in a half century the dearest and best of our young manhood and womanhood in this Cathedral Parish have responded to the World’s cry for defenders of Freedom…
Because of them we live.
Because of them Freedom is not perished from the earth.
Because of them, we, their eternal debtors… shall remember, and remembering keep what they have so dearly purchased.”
These words continue to guide the spirit in which this Book is preserved — not merely as a memorial, but as a living testament of gratitude, remembrance, and resolve.