Queen unveils memorial

Skylace · Admin Joined: 29 Apr 2006 Location: Pittsburgh, PA

The Queen has paid tribute to thousands of Canadian troops who lost their lives in World War I as she unveiled a restored monument in France.

The memorial remembers the bitter Battle of Vimy Ridge in which more than 3,500 Canadian soldiers died.

She was joined at the memorial, near Lille, by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his French counterpart, Dominique de Villepin.

The ceremony features prayers, the Last Post and a minute's silence.

The Queen said it was at the Battle of Vimy Ridge, which took place on Easter Monday 90 years ago, that Canadian troops scored a major victory that inspired Allied forces.

"No fewer than four Canadians were awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous bravery in the battle, though it could easily be said that every solider in the field demonstrated conspicuous bravery, such was the verve of the Canadian attack," she said.

"It was a stunning victory. More(over), in capturing this formidable objective, the Canadian corps transformed Vimy Ridge from a symbol of despair into a source of inspiration."

Designed by sculptor and architect Walter Seymour Allward, the monument was first unveiled by the Queen's uncle, King Edward VIII, in 1936.

It features 27-metre high pylons, 20 sculpted figures and inscriptions of the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers listed as "missing, presumed dead" during World War I.

It has undergone a major two-year restoration programme.

The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, was also joined by Canadian war veterans, serving Canadian military personnel and Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The Queen and the Duke were also laying a wreath before meeting war veterans and Canadian young people.

maycm · 'cheeky banana' Joined: 29 Apr 2006

Lest we forget.....the Vimy memorial

Vimy Ridge is a 14-kilometre long escarpment overlooking the Douai Plain of north-east France. This heavily fortified and highly strategic site was held by German forces during the First World War and previous attempts by the British and French had resulted in over 200,000 casualties. In the spring of 1917, the Canadian Corps were tasked with the decisive recapture of Vimy Ridge. For the first time in the Great War, all 4 Canadian divisions were to fight together on the same battlefield. After extensive planning and training, 30,000 Canadians (drawn from all 9 provinces) attacked at dawn on the morning of Easter Monday (April 9), with rain, snow and sleet falling down. With the benefit of a heavy artillery barrage, they took the ridge by afternoon. With tenacity and unflinching bravery, the Canadians fought on and, 3 days later, the entire ridge was under Allied control. It was the most successful Allied advance on the Western Front to that date but at a terrible cost — 10,602 Canadians wounded and 3,598 killed. This “turning point battle” resulted in 4 Victoria Crosses being awarded and the cornerstone laid for Canada's image of itself as a proud and confident nation as well as of its place in the world.

faceless · admin Joined: 25 Apr 2006

It's a pity so many died in what was an unnecessary war.

eefanincan · Admin Joined: 29 Apr 2006 Location: Canada

Here's how it was covered in our local paper this morning:

major.tom · Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 12:05 am Post subject:

While I feel proud of the Canadians who fought (and died) at Vimy Ridge and during the 2 Great Wars, I was pretty disgusted by the comments of Stephen Harper. He chose this time to reveal the 6 Canadian deaths by IED in Afghanistan, attempting to link the bravery of our soldiers during WWI and WWII to the so-called "War on Terror."

eefanincan · Admin Joined: 29 Apr 2006 Location: Canada

Since the soldier's didn't really have a choice where they were told to fight, they're just doing their job, I don't have any issues with them being mentioned...... they lost their lives in the line of duty and deserved to be recognized.

major.tom · Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 12:53 am Post subject:

Don't get me wrong. I don't blame the soldiers. They just do what brave soldiers are supposed to: follow orders and try to stay alive.

I'm put off by the timing of the announcement. What our military is doing in Afghanistan (which has real no possibility of success, since they're fighting an enemy impossible to distinguish from the civilian population) is not the same as liberating Europe or defending Great Britain.

I hope our gov't has the decency to bring them home before anyone else is killed.