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The Tin Soldier is modeled after a Sergeant Major of the Royal Engineers Columbia Detachment. The Royal Engineers, also known as the Sappers surveyed and established the City of New Westminster,
Commissioned by the Simon Fraser Society for Community Living, the 9.75 metre tall Tin Soldier was designed and manufactured by Danny Jay, Austin Metal Fabricators Ltd., BC Metal Association and Sheet Metal Workers Union (Local 280).
On November 29, 2000 it was installed outside of the Royal Westminster Regiment Armoury. A year later it was disassembled and relocated to its current location. A dedication ceremony for the Tin Soldier took place on February 14, 2001 at the Westminster Quay. In 2002, it was listed as the World’s Largest Tin Soldier in the Guinness Book of World Records. In 2011, the Simon Fraser Society for Community Living (now Kinsight) gifted the Tin Soldier to the City of New Westminster.
The sculpture contains a time capsule with contributions from numerous community members. The time capsule was scheduled to be opened in 2025.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We recognise and respect that New Westminster is on the unceded and unsurrendered land of the Halkomelem speaking peoples. We acknowledge that colonialism has made invisible their histories and connections to the land. As a City, we are learning and building relationships with the people whose lands we are on.
This is a living statement that will evolve as relationships continue to develop with the local First Nations.
The City of New Westminster acknowledges its history of violence against the First Peoples of this land and is embracing and prioritizing reconciliation with local First Nations and the urban Indigenous community. Learn more about the City’s actions to date around reconciliation here.