Vimy Ridge

When we drove down to the France Comté, at the beginning of our holiday, we passed many war cemeteries. Vast oceans of white crosses stretching towards the fields. We decided that before catching our ferry today we would visit Vimy Ridge.

In 1922, the French government ceded Vimy Ridge and the land surrounding it to Canada in recognition of their victory here and in memorial of the 11,285 Canadian soldiers killed in France who have no known graves. The Canadian soldiers were ordered to seize Vimy Ridge in April 1917. The monument is located on the highest point of the ridge, dominating the surrounding landscape and is an incredibly poignant reminder of the 10,602 Canadians who were wounded here during the attack and of the 3,598 who were killed. A portion of the battlefield has been preserved as part of the memorial park that surrounds the monument.

I hadn't expected the landscape to look so visibly like a battlefield and it shocked me. It has been softened by the grass, but you can still imagine how terrible it must have been. The grounds are honeycombed with tunnels, trenches, and craters, some gigantic. Many areas are still closed off for public safety due to unexploded munitions.

Standing within the monument and surrounded by name after name after name of those who died, the enormity of what happened here threatened to overwhelm me. You cannot stand here and not be affected.

Somewhat subdued, we drove to Calais for a final dash to the hypermarché and to catch our ferry home. We drove back to Mum's house for an easy meal and a good nights sleep.