The original grave markers placed during the war were temporary wooden crosses in a variety of designs. These were replaced during the 1920s by the official Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) standardized headstones. Some of these original markers were claimed by family members. Examples of these original markers are on display at several museums in Canada including the 48th Highlander Museum in Toronto, and the Hamilton Military Museum in Hamilton, Ontario.
Goldwin Pirie was buried in Netley Hospital's adjoining cemetery. Today Netley Military Cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). The area is now part of a public park as the historic hospital was demolished in the 1960s. The only feature preserved during the demolition was the central chapel which is now a museum dedicated to the history of Netley hospital.
Goldwin Pirie's grave is one of 42 Canadian first World War soldiers buried in Netley Cemetery. Each CWGC headstone has the standard design with Maple Leaf, name, unit, number and date of death. His family was given the option to pay for an additional line of scripture that could be carved at the bottom. This was purchased at that time.
In the 1920s, Goldwin's aunt, Mrs. Boyce Thompson (Ida McCausland) of Toronto, visited his grave in England and on behalf of his surviving brother and sisters, laid white flowers on the grave, and sent a long letter back to Elsie Pirie detailing the appearance of the grave, the carved scripture they had ordered and the surroundings. She penned the letter while writing it on the headstone so that they would have the letter as a memento. Mrs. Thompson must have thought it tragic that both her only son, Gordon Boyce Thompson (1884-1908) and her nephew, had died on the same day and month - July 1st. Her son had died at a very different time, while working on his M.A. in German philosophy in Berlin.
After his death, a memento of Goldie Pirie's stay at Netley hospital was returned to his family in Dundas. Charitable workers in the Netley area had set up an embroidery program to entertain the bedridden men, and Goldie's unfinished piece was returned to Canada. This piece is now lost.
By the mid 1920s the Canadian government forwarded a bronze commemorative medallion to the individual or family that was named as the next-of-kin on a soldier's original military attestation. The same design was sent to all Commonwealth soldiers who died as a result of their military service. It is also known informally as the "Dead Man's Penny". Goldie Pirie's medal card file indicates that the medallion was to be forwarded to his brother R. F. Pirie in Dundas, Ontario, and is stamped as received. Pirie was also eligible for two service medals which are also recorded as being delivered to Dundas. These are now missing. His family did not receive a Mother's Silver Cross as his mother was no longer alive.
Goldwin Pirie's name was also carved on the family monument in Grove Cemetery, Dundas, and is inscribed on the 1921 Dundas War Memorial. In addition, Pirie Street in Dundas was named in his honour in the 1980s when the new subdivision was designed. Goldie is also remembered in the 1920s Canadian Bank of Commerce "Letters from the Front" Roll of Honour books. His name appears on the war memorial at St. Paul's Anglican church in Toronto (likely arranged by his aunt) and he was also remembered in the Knox Presbyterian church in Dundas, Ontario.
Pirie is mentioned in an account of the Canadians at Ypres entitled Welcome to Flanders Fields (1988). This highly recommended historical account was written by historian Daniel Dancocks. Goldie Pirie is included in his description of the ill-fated charge at Mauser Ridge.
In 2007, another account was published recounting the story of the Canadians at Ypres: Baptism of Fire: The Second Battle of Ypres and the Forging Canada, April 1915. Historian Nathan Greenfield included a brief entry on Goldie Pirie's plight as a part of the 1st and 4th Battalion's charge.
In Port Hope, Ontario, Goldwin Pirie's rugby team photo of the winning school team of 1912 still hangs in a prominent place in Trinity College School, and this photo has lately been added to the archives accessible through their website. His name appears on the TCS roll of honour. An original photo of the Trinity College School World War One Cross of Sacrifice was found among the family papers. This cross honoured the fallen of this school. Finally, photographs and his story have been added to his record on the Canadian Virtual Memorial (Veterans Affairs of Canada) so that he will not be forgotten.
Finally, G. M. Pirie's nephew, Alan Goldwin Pirie, a son of his older brother Russell Fraser Pirie, was named in his honour.
