Vernon March - Legacy

Legacy

The April 2011 edition of the Chelsfield Village Voice, the monthly newsletter for Chelsfield, Bromley, described a talk that local historian and author Paul Rason had given the previous month to the area historical society. The subject of the lecture was the March family of artists. The talk was accompanied by photographs of the March family home of Goddendene in Locksbottom, Farnborough. The presentation also included images of the bronze statues of the National War Memorial of Canada. In 2011, an exhibition was held at the Bromley Museum at The Priory in Orpington, Bromley. The exhibition featured the work of local artists, and included scale models by members of the March family. A black and white, silent movie filmed in 1924 followed the March artists as they worked in their studios at Goddendene, and has been reproduced by British Pathé.

The original model for the National War Memorial is displayed in the Royal Canadian Legion Hall of Honour in the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The National War Memorial of Canada has been the site of Canada's annual National Remembrance Day celebration since 1939, the only exception being those times when construction near the site precluded it. Annual Armistice Day celebrations also take place at Vernon March's War Memorial in Cape Town, South Africa and include wreath-laying ceremonies and processions.

The autumn 2010 edition of The Pot, the annual newsletter of the Huronia Chapter of the Ontario Archaeological Society, revealed that the Champlain Monument at Couchiching Park in Orillia had been the site of a ceremony which took place on 16 October 2010. In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the first European visitor to the area, a chapter member played Étienne Brûlé. Events included a flag ceremony, an interview skit, and musical performances. The day's events were a precursor to more elaborate festivities scheduled for 2015, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Champlain's first visit to Orillia.

Vernon March's Diamond War Memorial in Derry, Northern Ireland has been the inspiration for the Diamond War Memorial Project. The project began in 2007, one of the primary goals being to research the lives of those inscribed on the memorial and disseminate the information. In the process, hundreds of additional names, never inscribed on the memorial, have been uncovered. Miniatures of the Diamond War Memorial are displayed at Saint Columb's Cathedral.