Visiting the Canadian War memorial at Vimy Ridge, France

The area of north west France around Arras is the site of countless battlefields, but one that makes a particularly memorable visit is the Canadian War Memorial and visitor centre at Vimy ridge which we visited while on a recent holiday with Eurocamp.

We were slightly lost as we drove through the French village of Vimy looking for signs to the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Suddenly we spotted a four wheel drive with the Canadian maple leaf on the side. “Follow that car!”, I instructed my husband and it soon led us up a road where pines on either side were set on grassy ground that was strangely undulating. This ground where sheep were now grazing was the spot where on Easter Monday, 1917 all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force had fought the battle for Vimy Ridge. The uneven ground was the remains of trench systems that had long ago collapsed and the grass grown over them.

We drew up in the Vimy Ridge visitor centre near a couple of coaches and entered the low red building set among the trees. Inside we wandered around reading the information about what had taken place here at Vimy and at the entrance saw a board with photographs of the fresh young faces of students who were part of the autumn student guide programme, warmly dressed in their green and red uniforms. We watched some of the video playing, describing the renovation project of the white limestone Canadian National Vimy Memorial by Canadian sculptor Walter Seymour Allward. The memorial was completed in 1936 and was opened by King Edward VIII but over the years the wind and rain had taken their toll and so a 3 year renovation project was launch to restore the monument to it’s original pristine glory. They even had to open the quarry in Croatia that had been the source of the original white limestone and the monument was re-dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007.

As we went outside we wandered through the trench systems preserved with concrete ‘sandbags’ and looked through rifle positions towards the former German lines. At the top of the rise we spotted one of the student guides giving a tour of the grounds and tagged on to the end of it, hoping that we wouldn’t be turned away. The young man was confident and informative as he gave us the facts of the battle and took us around the different parts of the site, ending with a walk through one of the underground tunnels that were used to move soldiers up to the front lines. Unfortunately the tour would only allow 25 people underground as I was the 26th I volunteered to stay above ground, taking photos while the rest of my family went through and saw the different rooms leading off the tunnels.

I was so impressed with this young man that I ran after him when the tour finished hoping to shoot some video of him talking about the Vimy battle site, but he was about to take another tour underground and couldn’t stop at that point. The student guides spend 4 months in France, living locally and showing visitors around the site of trenches and tunnels as well as manning the visitor centre. We learned later that there are regular tours around the site that are free and can be booked in the visitor centre.

After our tour we moved on to the towering Canadian war memorial itself on the high ground just up the road. This ridge was a strategic spot to be fought over as the high ground gives a view over the surrounding countryside. The memorial is build of stark white limestone with twin towers and statues at the base and at the top of each tower, representing the sympathy of Canada for the dead and the desire for peace in the future. On the East side is a large figure of sorrowing Mother Canada, looking out over the Douai plain that was fought over so fiercely, and around the sides of the monument are carved the names of those Canadians killed in France with no known grave.

Although the terrain was rolling rather than hilly, this piece of high ground was important to be won and the battle of Vimy ridge became a symbol of Canadian unity and achievement due to the way that all four divisions fought successfully together.

What a wonderful opportunity for those Canadian students I thought, to live and work together in France for 4 months in a place where in a different generation at a different time, they might have been the soldiers in those same trenches and tunnels, fighting for this spot of land. What an imaginative way to inspire the students participanting in this scheme with a pride in their nation’s achievements at the same time as educating them in the horrors that war will bring.

If you’ve participated in the Canadian Student Guide program at Vimy or the other monuments in northern France, I’d love to hear how you found the experience. We really enjoyed our visit to Vimy Ridge and our children also found it fascinating to hear the stories and run through the trenches and feel a little of what war is really like.

Visitor Information

Visitor information and hours of Operation at Vimy Ridge

Information about the Canadian National Vimy Memorial

Information about the Student guide program at Vimy and other sites in France

We visited Vimy Ridge while a guest of Eurocamp at the holiday parc at La Croix du Vieux Pont at Berny Riviere. The parc is ideal for a family holiday, set in beautiful countryside and with many sports facilities and entertainments on site. It will take around 2 hrs to drive from the parc to Vimy near Arras, or it would make an ideal stop on the route between Calais and Berny Riviere.

More things we enjoyed in Northern France

The Eiffel Tower – Icon of Paris or tourist trap?
Visiting our Great Uncle’s grave at Arras – thoughts for Armistice Day
Our supercalifragilistic day at the Magical kingdom of Disneyland Paris

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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