Elinor Ratcliffe to Receive City's Highest Honour

On Monday, May 16, Council will address a resolution to award philanthropist Elinor Gill Ratcliffe the Freedom of the City.

“The Freedom of the City recognizes the outstanding efforts of an individual or group who has given exemplary service to the City of St. John’s,” explained Mayor Dennis O’Keefe. “We can think of no one more worthy of this honour, as Ms. Gill Ratcliffe has contributed so much to enrich the cultural heritage of our City.”

Recipient of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Order of Canada, an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Memorial University and the Red Cross Humanitarian Award, Elinor Gill Ratcliffe’s contributions to the province and the City are many:

• She has donated a number of pieces of public art, including The Spencer Girl at Rawlins' Cross, The Rower at Quidi Vidi Lake, and the George Street sculpture, ‘Time’, which celebrates our designation as the Canadian cultural capital.  When the Newfoundland Realist Artists exhibited at City Hall she purchased the bulk of that collection and donated it to the City for display.
• Her donations to the Rooms have made the social history gallery and the First World War Gallery possible.
• She contributes to the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Advisory Council, the Historic Sites Association, the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Historical Society, the Vera Perlin Society, Memorial University, Daffodil Place, the George Street Soup Kitchen, the new YMCA of Northeast Avalon, and many cultural institutions such as the Shallaway Youth in Chorus and the Newfoundland Symphony. An important and leading role was her contribution to the revitalization of Bannerman Park, through the memorial park, ice trail, pool house and sculpture.
• Her work also has an international dimension and she has supported such human rights organizations as Médecins Sans Frontières and Amnesty International.

Nominated by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Advisory Council for this prestigious award, Ms. Gill Ratcliffe will receive her medal and designation at a special ceremony later this week.

“Elinor has spent a lifetime dedicated to a place she proudly calls home, and when we look at the many beautiful sculptures and sites in St. John’s we think of her,” said Mayor O’Keefe. “Her many gifts have been very strategic: investments in public art, in public spaces, in our culture, our families and, most importantly, in telling the story of home. We are proud to honour and acknowledge this remarkable woman and add her to the list of Freedom of the City recipients.”

Media Contact:
Kelly Maguire
Media Relations
City of St. John's
709-576-8491
kmaguire@stjohns.ca