Originally known as Wilson Park (West 41st Avenue was known as Wilson Road at the time) this site was acquired by tax sales and was part of the South Vancouver Municipality before the City was amalgamated in 1929. Municipal Engineer E. Dundas Todd designed the park as a memorial to soldiers who perished in World War I. Vancouver’s first Cenotaph, located at South Vancouver Municipal Hall was relocated to the park later on November 11, 1939. The new park was officially opened on May 22, 1926.
For many years the park played host to whippet racing but the most exciting event had to be an emergency plane landing on the football field during the Second World War. It seems the trainer plane from the No. 18 Elementary Air Training School at Boundary Bay had gotten off course, was low on fuel and had to make a forced landing.