Vimy Ridge – Expression in Stone
Names on the Vimy Memorial prior to its restoration in 2007. (P. Ferguson image, 1999)
How many eyes have seen these names…
and whispered voices read them softly?
(P. Ferguson, © September 1999)
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Part One
The Battle for Vimy Ridge
Vimy Trench Map.
Vimy Ridge, a northern French landscape helped establish Canada’s identity as a nation unto itself.
Heavily fortified along a seven kilometer front the Ridge, occupied by German forces, held a commanding view over the Allied lines.
The commander of the Canadian Army at Vimy Ridge, Julian Hedworth George Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy GCB GCMG MVO.
Chaps, you shall go over exactly like a railroad train, on time, or you shall be annihilated.
Sir Julian Byng, Canadian Corps Commander
Lush, green grass now grows upon the craters. Note the reforested area of the once devastated Vimy. (P. Ferguson image, 1999)
In two years of fighting no other Allied Army succeeded in capturing the ridge. The French alone lost 150,000 men attempting to capture the position.
The Willis family memorial at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, B.C also commemorates family member Harry Ambrose Willis. Wounded at Vimy Ridge. Died April 13, 1917. (P. Ferguson image, ca. 2000)
The Canadian victory though a success cost the lives of 3,598 Canadians and 7,000 wounded.
Cross of Sacrifice at Vimy. (P. Ferguson image 1999)
The fighting and memories of April 9 – 12, 1917 would endure with Canadian Great War veterans, their families, and friends throughout their remaining days. Perhaps they did not realize or expect that the record of their sacrifice would continue to this day. Our desire to remember them is evidenced by the volumes of research, interest in exhibitions and literature and by the many visitors to these former sites of conflict.
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Part Two
Some Corner of a Foreign Field
Building a Park Legacy 1925 – 1936
Mother Canada in mourning. Statue at the Vimy Memorial, France. (P. Ferguson image, 19959)
The French Government granted Vimy Ridge “freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada, the free use of the land…”
The Vimy Monument was designed by Canadian sculptor Sir Walter Allward. The figure represents a male mourner. (The Epic of Vimy, 1936)
“To the valour of their countrymen in the Great War and in memory of their sixty thousand dead this monument is raised by the people of Canada.” The inscription at the Vimy Memorial is written in both English and French.
The Vimy Memorial. (P. Ferguson image, 2009)
The Vimy Pilgrimage, organized by the Canadian Legion in 1936, was first conceived at the Dominion Convention in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1928. At that time it was believed the memorial would be unveiled in either 1931 or 1932.
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Part Three
Think Only This of Me
The Pilgrims in France
Unveiling program. Canadian National War Memorial, Vimy Ridge – July 26, 1936.
Vimy pilgrims awaiting the arrival of King Edward VIII, Vimy, 1936. (The Epic of Vimy)
King Edward VIII
King Edward VIII delegates and officials at Vimy, 1936. (The Epic of Vimy)
The memorial was unveiled by King Edward VIII July 26, 1936 with over 8,000 Canadians in attendance and another 92,000 visitors.
Pilgrims at the Vimy Memorial, 1936. (The Epic of Vimy)
A British newspaper remarked, “there were as many persons present at Vimy Ridge on July 26th, 1936 as there had been on April 9th, 1917.”
Amongst those who journeyed were Canadian Silver Cross mothers Mrs. McDermott, Mrs. MacDonald, Mrs. Wardle and Mrs. Wood. (The Epic of Vimy)
Charlotte Susan Wood was the second wife of Frederick Louis Wood who was already the father of six sons. Together they had seven children. Five of the 13 children were killed during the Great War. (The Epic of Vimy)
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Part Four
Expression in Stone
The King’s speech, broadcast by CBC Radio across Canada, described the memorial as “an inspired expression in stone…”
The laying of wreaths at the Vimy Memorial, 1936. (The Epic of Vimy)
After the official ceremony the Pilgrims jammed the memorial, placing wreaths and anxious to find names of friends and family chiseled into its walls.
Pilgrims in the trenches. (The Epic of Vimy).
Pilgrims visited the restored trenches of Vimy Ridge. These trenches remain in existence today.
All quiet on a September day. The preserved trenches at Vimy in the early morning mist. (P. Ferguson image, 1999)
A pilgrim finds his brother’s name. (The Epic of Vimy)
Pilgrim William Arthur Unthank of Toronto indicating the name of his brother, Private Richard Peter Unthank of the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles who was killed September 29, 1916.
W.A. Unthank was a First World War veteran who originally joined the 83rd Battalion C.E.F.
Emma and Ole Berget, of Alderson (Medicine Hat), Alberta. Private Ole Berget, 31st Battalion CEF, formerly 175th Battalion, Missing in Action, Battle of Fresnoy, May 3, 1917. Commemorated on the Vimy Memorial. His wife Emma also lost her brother Bernard Kyllo of the 50th Battalion C.E.F. The images are of the author’s Great Grandmother and Great Grandfather.
The author’s expression in stone at Vimy. Pointing to the chiseled name of O BERGET, September 14-15, 1999.
How many eyes have seen these names…
and whispered voices read them softly?
(P. Ferguson, © September 1999)
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