Malvern Collegiate’s war memorial vandalized

Staff and community members involved at Malvern Collegiate Institute expressed shock, sadness and disgust after the school’s war memorial was vandalized over the weekend.

“It’s a huge event. Generations of families have gone to Malvern. It’s hitting us very hard,” principal Line Pinard said at news conference in front of the east-end school Monday morning.

The memorial that bears the names of 25 former Malvern C.I. students who died in the First World War was damaged around 12:45 a.m. Sunday. The monument was wrapped in blue duct tape and three letters were knocked off.

The school is located at 55 Malvern Ave., near Gerrard and Main.

“It absolutely devastates the community that someone would be so disrespectful to our school, to our memorial, to the people who worked hard to [restore it],” monument committee member Fran Perkins said. “It’s isn’t a funny joke and they did know because everyone knows this is a memorial.”

The statue had just been repaired and was re-dedicated on Friday. Family members of the young men the monument honours attended that ceremony last week. One man dedicated letters his uncle wrote from the front to the school’s archives.

“We want [students] to realize that it could have been one of them during World War 1,” said Pinard, while explaining the school’s efforts to educate students about the Great War.
 
While the tape has since been taken off, the adhesive left behind will also have to be carefully removed. The letters will also have to be repaired and reaffixed. The repairs are expected to cost about $2,000. The committee in charge of caring for the memorial is also hoping to establish an eco-garden for the school’s soldiers.

Fundraising efforts are already underway to pay for the repairs and to offer a “substantial” reward for information that leads to an arrest. Police have yet to apprehend any suspects.

An outraged parent who spotted the damage later Sunday began removing the tape himself, but was stopped by police and neighbours.

Pinard said that security video showed a young man climbing the statue, while three others look on and take pictures with their cellphones. The four suspects arrived at the scene in a car, Pinard said, but security footage didn’t capture the licence plate.

The principal made an announcement to staff and students about the incident Monday morning, informing how students can provide tips anonymously.

The monument has been targeted several times in the past. Over the years it has been painted over, egged and has been draped with clothing from rival high schools. Pinard said it’s too early to speculate if students from a nearby school or if students from her own school are responsible.

Extra lighting and additional security cameras are being considered to ensure the monument isn’t targeted again.