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THE BATTLE OF VIMY RIDGE
I first visited Vimy Ridge in November 1984 when I accompanied the Minister of Veterans Affairs on an annual commemoration of the capture of Vimy Ridge. It is often said it was at Vimy Ridge on 9 April, l917 that Canada became a nation. For the first time the Canadian army was commanded by a Canadian general and won this strategic battle after the British army had failed to gain this site during several offensive actions.
The protocol for these annual Commemoration trips has been finely tuned over the years, and a small delegation of representatives from the Royal Canadian Legion, and The War Amps, accompanied the Minister and his staff. The group was lodged at a small, very old and quaint hotel in Arras, which is a few miles from the Vimy. The Canadian ambassador to France always attends, together with many local villagers, a Canadian Honour Guard, a military band and busloads of Canadian students then attending Canadian schools on military bases in France and Germany.
On the way to the Ridge for the ceremony, the Minister’s party stopped at the home of the Mayor of Arras, for a glass of sherry and greetings, then everyone proceeded to the Monument.
The monument, which was unveiled in 1936 by King Edward VIII, was designed by a Canadian architect, Walter Allward, and took ll years to build. It was built of white Yugoslavian marble. The monument is visible for many miles, and stands on top of a ridge which is always windy and desolate
It honours Canada’s 60,000 war dead, and the names of over 11, 000 men with no known graves are carved along the massive base and stairways. More than 10,500 were injured and 3,500 men were killed in the Battle to capture Vimy Ridge in the three-day battle
The Ceremony consisted of the playing of the National Anthems of Canada and France, prayers by Canadian military Chaplains, wreath laying and the Last Post, played from a site near the top the Monument. The plaintive sounds echoed across the Ridge. The Ceremony also included addresses by the Minister and the Canadian Ambassador and the Mayor. The children then laid flowers and Canadian flags at the base of the monument to close the event.
The party then returned to the Arras Hotel, where a dinner was held, and was attended annually by many of the local officials, as well as the visiting party. It was a magnificent meal, and there was much merriment as the meal progressed and wine flowed. Again there were many speeches, some in French, and many in English, as well as some local speakers who annually practice their broken English.
On 9th April 1987, the 70th anniversary of Vimy Ridge was celebrated and the Minister led a pilgrimage to Vimy to mark this event. The number of active and healthy veterans was diminishing, and Veterans Affairs identified and invited one veteran from each of our provinces to attend and bring an accompanying guest, as many of the veterans needed some measure of assistance. The average age of the veterans was 90 years. The delegation also included a doctor and a nurse to assist the veterans as needed. The group nicely filled a large bus. We had colourful guide, who was an amateur historian and chose to live near Vimy when he retired from the British Army. Many of the veterans had not been back to France since the Great War, and it was a great privilege to observe their emotional return to France.
The oldest veteran was from Quebec, and he told us about his experience during the Battle of the Somme, when his horse was stuck in the deep mud after many days’ rain. He said he was on his horse, and had sunk to his waist, when a buddy saw his predicament and tossed him a rope which he tied around his waist, and the buddy’s horse pulled him clear, but his horse disappeared beneath him. This veteran brought his young family doctor as his guest, and the doctor was literally exhausted by the routine his host established. The veteran would sit in the hotel lounge, smoking his pipe and tapping his foot to the music and sipping his ale. He then would step dance and sing old war songs until the bar closed. His young doctor often quietly left the room when he could no longer stay awake!
A veteran from Prince Edward Island was stationed at an artillery post some distance from the Ridge. He told me that many of his comrades were under 21, and his Sergeant Major would not give the nightly drink of rum to those under age. However, he recalled that on the eve of the big battle, the Sergeant Major passed the allotment around to everyone, saying “Drink up well tonight, laddies, tomorrow is going to be a rough one”. This man brought his son with him, and together they were writing memoirs of his military service. The son told us that he never really knew his father until that trip, and it was very touching to see them holding hands during the ceremony.
We got off the bus at the roadside close to the Monument and I followed a veteran and his wife as they trudged up the hill to the Ridge. This man was puffing from the effort of the climb, and said, “I just don’t remember a hill being here”. His wife replied, “Well, dear, you must remember you were 70 years younger the last time you climbed this hill”.
After the formal ceremony, the group had a dinner at the Hotel Arras, and the event followed the annual format, but of course the numbers were larger, and thus involved more flowery speeches and a piper in dress kilt, to pipe in the chef who prepared the banquet. He then “took requests” to play World War I melodies on the bagpipes. I often thought that bagpipes were an acquired taste, but it all seemed exactly right for this crowd.
On one of our day trips to various battle sites, our tour guide announced that we were going near Armatieres, and would anyone like a rest stop there. There were several affirmative replies, and these weary old men trooped off the bus and into a bar/saloon. When they came back to the bus, they broke into the World War I song “Mademoiselle from Armatiere” and one can only speculate what memories they were reliving from that stop!
On the last evening of the trip, we again went to Vimy Ridge and it was fully illuminated by floodlights. We had time to walk around all the levels of the Monument, and closely see the exquisite carving in the eerie light. I felt as if there were spirits and ghosts all around us. It was a moment of unforgettable beauty and poignancy, and many of the veterans brushed tears away and vowed to remember the peace of the moment.
It was a time for us all to reflect on the terrible circumstances which led to the building of this magnificent memorial to the folly of war and the sacrifice of brave men whose names are carved here. As we drove along the side road away from the monument, the lights of Vimy Ridge flicked off and on and off again, to bring an end to an impressive pilgrimage.