Ministry of Defence
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Lest We Forget
British Legion
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Vimy Ridge, France

Photographs Copyright © Lynda Smith 2002


Vimy Memorial stands on the highest point of Vimy Ridge. It was here on Easter Monday, 9th April 1917, that the Canadians launched an assault. It was an outstanding success and broke the Hindenburg Line, but with appalling casualties.

The site was chosen as the Memorial to the Canadians who died in France. Designed by a Canadian, Walter Allward, the memorial is made of limestone it commemorates not only more than 11,000 Canadians who have no known grave, but also all 66,655 Canadians who travelled across the Atlantic and died on the Fields of France.

Today the area around the Memorial is pockmarked with shell craters, and because of the still present danger of unexploded shells, the only living creatures to walk the grass are peacefully grazing sheep.

There is a reconstructed trench and tunnels which one can visit most of the year.

The 250 acres of land which surround the Memorial were given by the French to Canada in perpetuity. The area is planted with Canadian trees - one for each of the dead.

For a very interesting site, with lots of photographs and articles please see
http://www.interlog.com/~fatjack/vimy/vimy.html


02 December 2002
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