The Ottawa Memorial, also known as the Commonwealth Air Force Memorial, commemorates by name more than 800 men and women who lost their lives while serving or training during the Second World War with the Air Forces of the Commonwealth in Canada, the West Indies and the United States and who have no known grave. It was built in 1958 by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (then the Imperial War Graves Commission, Canadian Agency) and unveiled by HM Queen Elizabeth II in an official ceremony on July 1, 1959. It is important to the RCAF who have been linked with the site since their involvement on the advisory committee.
The Ottawa Memorial is set on a cliff on Green Island, overlooking the Ottawa River and beside the beautiful Rideau Falls. This spectacular setting is located just off historic Sussex Drive, with parking available on the east side of Rideau Falls Park, north of Sussex Drive.
The Memorial is the second most frequently visited Commonwealth War Graves Commission structure in Canada.
The mission of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is to commemorate by name, the more than 1.7 million servicemen and women of Commonwealth forces who died in the First and Second World Wars, ensuring they, and the human cost of war, will never be forgotten. We are a global organization, caring for war graves and memorials at 23,000 locations in more than 150 countries and territories. The Canada, Americas, and Pacific Area office in Canada is responsible for the commemorations of over 20,000 World War dead in Canada and the Americas, as well as another 100,000 along the Pacific Rim, from Japan to Indonesia.
