The Halifax Memorial with the port’s Halterm container terminal in the distance. [Richard Foot/LM]

Freedom of the seas: Today’s conflicts jeopardize the Battle of the Atlantic’s legacy

STORY BY RICHARD FOOT

At Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, where the city’s harbour meets the incoming swells of the Atlantic, one can see vividly how momentous events of the past inform the present.

On the Halifax Memorial, just steps from the water’s edge, bronze panels bear the names of 3,267 Canadians and Newfoundlanders who died at sea in unknown graves during the First and Second world wars. Most (including many merchant seamen) were lost in transatlantic convoys bringing war supplies to Europe.

Meanwhile, every day within sight of the memorial, ships carrying cargo from across the Americas, Asia and Europe enter the harbour and dock at a container-loading terminal, whose giant cranes can be seen and heard throughout the park. According to the Port of Halifax, more than 8.5 million metric tonnes of cargo passed through in 2025.

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Don Begg and Shirley Stephens-Begg stand with The Royal Regina Rifles commemorative statue they sculpted during its unveiling at Thue et Mue, France, on June 5, 2024. [Corporal Antoine Brochu/Canadian Forces Combat Camera]

Sculptors Don and Shirley Begg on immortalizing Canadian military history in bronze

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

“How many people,” asked sculptor Don Begg of Studio West Bronze Foundry & Gallery in Cochrane, Alta., “get the chance to make something that will last 1,000 years?” Certainly, he and his wife, fellow sculptor Shirley Stephens-Begg, are two such artists.

Having created more than 100 public installations across North America and beyond since their workshop’s founding in 1970, the pair take particular pride in commemorating Canadian military history and heritage. Their sculptures include the Great War nursing sister depicted on the Saskatchewan War Memorial in Regina; “The Infantryman” in Oromocto, N.B.; the “Let’s Go” monument portraying a Korean War soldier in Calgary; and various cenotaphs throughout Canada.

Speaking to Legion Magazine, Don and Shirley reflected on legacy, both their own and those who they immortalize.

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