By Richard Lawrence
One hundred and nine years ago, on the 9th of April, 1917, four Canadian divisions fought together for the first time as the Canadian Corps and achieved, in three days, what the French and British armies had failed to do in years of fighting. In October, 1914, the German Army took the Vimy Ridge escarpment, a strategic position, and doggedly held onto it until the Canadians took it back in a battle from the 9th – 12th April, 1917, costing 3,600 dead and 7,000 wounded Canadian lives. Four members of the Canadian Corps were awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions during the battle. The commander of the Corps, General Julian Byng, would go on to be the 12th Governor-General of Canada.
Pictures from the ceremony are at: https://www.richardlawrencephotography.ca/rlpgalleries/2026/vimy109/
Now, marking occasions such as Vimy Ridge, Dieppe, Ortona, and other major Canadian efforts are usually marked each year with Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) placing a wreath by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa without much fanfare. On major occasions, say every five or ten year anniversary, a more elaborate Remembrance Ceremony is held with politicians, speeches, choirs, and all levels of government placing wreaths along with various veterans organizations. This year, being the 109th anniversary, the VAC plan was a simple wreath placing.
However, this upset some people, most notably veteran Jerry Kovacs who lobbied VAC and a couple of other groups and managed to take this from the planned simple wreath laying to something more elaborate. As it wound up, representatives from VAC (Skye Purdy) the Province of Ontario (MPP Karen McCrimmon), The Vimy Foundation, The Royal Canadian Legion (Larry Murray), and other groups combined for a simple ceremony (no speeches, no commitment to remember, no microphone, no chairs,etc) in which eleven wreaths were laid in remembrance of the fallen at Vimy Ridge.
They also managed to find a piper (Mr. Kock) and bugler to play the last post (Sgt. Chris Gerhei of the Central Band of the CAF) who used a bugle that was 100 years old. There were two pipers and a drummer from the Royal Canadian Legion in Kemptville and two re-enactors showed up in World War I dress to round out the field
So, under blue skies on a beautiful spring day, the fallen of Vimy Ridge were remembered.
Pictures from the ceremony are at: https://www.richardlawrencephotography.ca/rlpgalleries/2026/vimy109/
It should also be noted that this was the first day of the National Sentry Program where selected military personnel stand guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. So the pictures of the sentries are the first of this year.
