Vimy Ridge anniversary

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Mariner

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2011
Messages
408
Location
Ontario, Canada
This weekend marks the 95th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, and last week I had the great pleasure of interviewing a young woman from my area who is working as a tour guide at the memorial in France. It is a Canadian government student program.
It was wonderful to talk to her; she said actually spending time in a place where so many lost their lives has made an impact she will carry for the rest of her life. She has a renewed interest, at 23, in Canada's history during the Great War.
There's hope for the world yet.
Happy Easter to all on PF.
Mary
 
I like how Australia and New Zealand celebrate ANZAC Day. We should have Vimy Day. We are way overdue turning this date into a national holiday.

For anyone interested in a good read, try "Vimy" by Pierre Berton.
 
I saw the series "For King and Country" re. the CEF in WWI go by last week. For anyone who hasn't seen it, you can get it off youtube. Well worth a viewing! I second Paul's call for Vimy Day.

Colin
 
Hi Mary;

I just got back this Tuesday from taking a group of my students to visit Vimy Ridge. We also got to tour Beaumont-Hamel (where the Newfoundland regiment paid such a dear price on July 1, 1916) as well as Passchendaele, Sanctuary Wood, Hill 62, St. Julian and Ypres. The best part was our impromptu wreath laying ceremony at Essex Farm where McRae wrote "In Flanders Fields" in 1915. I klnow there kids will never forget this experience and Remembrance Day will never be the same for them. As an aside, the Canadian students who act as tour guides at Vimy and Beaumont-Hamel are excellent and are wondeful ambassadors for Canada.
 
Hi Glenn, yes, one of the girls was at Beaumont-Hamel and the other at Vimy...it's great to see them get an opportunity like that.
Mary
 
Hi all,
Thanks for starting this thread, Mary. Always good to remember...

In 2007, I painted up this Warriors figure as a Canuck of 1st Cdn. Div. as my own little commemoration of the 90th anniversary of Vimy - here's a couple of shots:

photo9.jpg


photo5-1.jpg

photo7-1.jpg


Kinda weirds me out a bit when I consider that the D-Day vets are now as old today as the Vimy vets were in 1987 when I taught my first Grade 10 Canadian history classes (man am I gettin' old!). In our Ontario history course, still strive to give as special attention to the Battle of Vimy Ridge as we do to D-Day, even though there are no more Vimy vets alive as direct links to that seminal Canadian experience in 1917.

Lest we Forget,

Brian
 
Great figure Brian. As I type I am watching CBC coverage of the 95th anniversary of Vimy as well as the Newfoundland Regiment's July 1, 1916 dsiaster at Beaumont Hamel. I particularly liked that the Gov General pointed to the enormous sacrifice of the members of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment making "our country and our world more sensitive and caring to the cost of war"rather than dragging out the old "freedom" chestnut that is not particularly relevant to WWI.

Recent news articles have focused on the importance of Remembrance tourism to the French economy as, generations later, family members make pilgrimages to visit the graves and battlefields of their ancestors. Until last Nov, I had zero interest in WWI. Then I found my Gr. Uncle's last letter home describing the 3rd Salford Pals attack on the first day on the Somme and I was hooked. A visit to my Uncle's grave at Warloy Baillon near Albert in on my bucket list as I don't think anyone from my family has ever been there.

As my interest in WWI grows, I look forward to Tommy's War getting to the Somme and to Vimy.

Colin
 
Colin
Not sure about France but I've read (as I am sure you have too) as part of their school experience, kids in Holland and Belgium are assigned a war grave to care for. In addition, they are to research the soldier buried there.

There is a lovely video (YouTube) showing a kid dressed in WW2 Highlander uniform standing to attention as a Canadian army contingent march by on their way to Rememberance Day services. Very touching.

Paul
 
Colin
Not sure about France but I've read (as I am sure you have too) as part of their school experience, kids in Holland and Belgium are assigned a war grave to care for. In addition, they are to research the soldier buried there.

There is a lovely video (YouTube) showing a kid dressed in WW2 Highlander uniform standing to attention as a Canadian army contingent march by on their way to Rememberance Day services. Very touching.

Paul

This one Paul?
Very touching,
Carl.
 
Paul - my son is doing Grade 10 Cdn history this year and, as his first assignment, he had to take a name from a local war memorial, research to soldier and write a fictional letter home from the front.

He took our new found Somme letter in to show off and blew the teacher away. Looks like our school system is getting something right.

Colin
 
I work at Sunnybrook Hospital and Veteran's Residence and we have great Rememberance and Anniversary celebrations there. To be able to interact with the vets on a daily basis helps me to remember to never take what we have today for granted. The "Old Boys" are also a huge help to the new generation of Canadian war wounded that are now coming to the 'Brook from overseas service in the Gulf regions and Afganistan.
With no living WW I vets left, there are permanent memorials all over the campus so their memories live on to be shared with the community year round. Local schools enjoy visits with the vets throughout the year... the kids get to learn a little something and the vets enjoy the company.
It is all our responsibility to not let these men and women be forgotten.

Colin
 


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