Remembrance at the
University of Saskatchewan
The University of Saskatchewan has a long-standing campus tradition of hosting a Remembrance Day ceremony at the Memorial Gates in honour of those who have served and continue to serve our country.
Please join us on November 11, 2023 for our 95th annual brief program and wreath laying ceremony.
In 1928, Walter Murray, the very first president of the university, unveiled the Memorial Gates on campus, built and dedicated in honour of the 69 students, staff and faculty from the university who were killed while serving in the First World War. Since then, every year on Remembrance Day, we have gathered at the Gates to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and to pay tribute to all who have served, and to those who continue to serve our country in times of war and peace.
The University of Saskatchewan has a long and proud tradition of military service by generations of faculty, staff, students and alumni. From the historic Memorial Gates to the new Memorial Bench dedicated 100 years later, to the Roll of Honour ribbons in the corridors of the Peter MacKinnon Building, the university’s memorials are a permanent reminder of our close campus connection to Canadian military service and history.
On behalf of our senior leadership team, our faculty and staff, our students and alumni, we honour all those who have proudly served and sacrificed for our country and beyond.
On this day, and all days, we remember.
Peter Stoicheff
President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Saskatchewan
We also invite you to take some time to reflect on the messages and stories on this page about the many USask faculty, staff, students and alumni who have served their country and the memorials that exist on campus to honour them.
Highly-decorated alumnus Major-General Denis O’Reilly (BA’91) has travelled the world representing Canada in multiple military operations.
USask remembers: Sergeant Moore, the class of 1912
John James Moore was a member of the historic Class of 1912 – one of seven students who made up the University of Saskatchewan’s first graduating class 110 years ago.
Honouring one of the fallen heroes of Dieppe
He was on his way to following in his father’s footsteps and becoming the next lawyer in the family, but Robert Andrew Woolard was determined to answer the call of duty for his country in the Second World War.
USask assistant professor serving his country
Major Dr. Nabeel Samad (MD) doesn’t know when the order will come, but the University of Saskatchewan (USask) assistant professor is anxiously awaiting the day he is called to duty to serve his country.
Service and sacrifice: Remembering Captain Cowie
Captain Donald MacArthur Cowie went from teaching in the classrooms of Saskatoon’s Mayfair School, to battling on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day
Dr. Scott McLeod: A lifetime of service
Dr. Scott McLeod (MD) has never been one to shy away from an opportunity. After receiving his biochemistry degree in his hometown of Regina, McLeod journeyed north to pursue a medical degree from the University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Medicine, which he completed in 1993.
Act of Remembrance
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
An except from the poem "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon
War veteran and USask alumnus creates new scholarship for first-year B.Comm. students
Throughout the history of the Edwards School of Business, there has always been a mission to “develop business professionals to build nations.”
Hounds of hope: USask researcher investigates how service dogs can improve the mental health of veterans
The human-to-animal connection may reduce the risk of suicide in military Veterans by providing unique social support.
Capt. Sheldon Maerz: Importance of remembrance
The Langham resident and University of Saskatchewan alumnus (BSA’86) has spent the past three decades in the Canadian Forces and completing four tours of duty overseas as part of...
Always ready, always prepared
COVID-19 won’t get in the way of celebrating Remembrance Day for USask grad
We remember
The University of Saskatchewan’s war memorials are a daily reminder of our campus connection to Canadian veterans.
Service and sacrifice: Remembering USask law student who gave his life in Second World War
He grew up on the family farm near Harris, 80 kilometres southwest of Saskatoon where he went to earn a bachelor’s degree at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) before heading off to war.
Great War Committee unveils memorial bench
The University of Saskatchewan (USask) has unveiled a new memorial to honour the 345 faculty, students and staff who served in the First World War from 1914-1918 and the 69 who never came home.
HMCS Margaret Brooke: Honouring heroism
Her act of heroism in trying to save the life of a fellow Royal Canadian Navy nurse on that frigid October night during the Second World War earned the University of Saskatchewan alumna the distinction of...
Remembering Thomas Caldwell
A little over a century ago, Thomas Caldwell left the University of Saskatchewan to serve his country overseas in the First World War and never returned.
U of S alum John Diefenbaker and the Great War
In July of 1936, John Diefenbaker travelled with more than 6,000 other Canadians across the Atlantic to witness King Edward VIII’s dedication of the Vimy Ridge Memorial on the site where...
Canadian forces have long history at USask
The university and the city of Murray Scharf’s youth is very different to the one today, once a central hub of military service members training for the Second World War and living shoulder-to-shoulder with...
A century of remembrance at USask
It’s been 100 years since the end of the First World War, a conflict that altered the course of history and had a profound effect on the University of Saskatchewan.