Local Legion Marks 95th Anniversary Of Vimy Ridge
Prince George, BC – Just as it did in 1917, the 9th of April falls on Easter Monday this year…
In a statement reflecting on the 95th Anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, BC Premier Christy Clark says, "I urge you this weekend to remember those valient young men who answered Canada’s call to arms when our country was in its infancy." On Easter weekend in 1917, four divisions of Canadians – more than 100-thousand men – drew together to fight as one army for the first time. Through treacherous conditions and despite mass casualties, they struggled forward, yard-by-yard, over three days until the ridge was secured.
The Royal Canadian Legion Branch #43 in Prince George will mark the anniversary by hosting a roast beef dinner on Monday evening.
"It’s such an important event in the role of our Canadian military and during the battle, we lost close to 36-hundred men and more than seven-thousand wounded," says Legion Acting President, Bruce Gabriel. "We want to honour them and keep it going so that people in our country realize the sacrifice that our military made and are, even today, continuing to make around the world for them."
Local veteran, Josephine ‘Joey’ Selkirk, is planning to attend the gathering. "To my knowledge, she is our oldest veteran that we have here," says Gabriel. "She just hit the century mark and this event is all part and parcel of honouring veterans like her."
On the other end of the spectrum, 12 cadets are directly involved with the dinner and Gabriel is so pleased by this, pointing out that the city’s four cadet corps boast some of the best cadets in the country. "Eventually many form the back bone of our Canadian military," he says. "But it also teaches them to be good citizens in whatever they do, they learn a lot of life skills."
Tickets for Monday’s dinner, which starts at 5pm, are $10 for veterans and $25 for others and are still available by calling 250-562-1292.
Comments
Not mentioned in Clarks address is the fact that two other armies tried the same thing and couldn’t take it. The Canadians wouldn’t take no for an answer. They showed the world what we were made of and had a very big hand in the world recognising that this country was a force to be recognised.
Vimy Ridge was the birth of Canadian independence and eventual sovereignty. Britain and France had lost the best of their armies trying to take Vimy Ridge losing over 800,000 of their bravest citizens in the senseless meat slaughter they were sent to. All was lost and Canada was their last hope. Canada built Frances first railroad to supply our forces tasked with taking Vimy Ridge.
Canada didn’t send our soldiers to be slaughtered senselessly, but rather just held our ground and built up a plan for months on end before making the final attack that was all over in less than three days. Canada had a lot on the line as the German 1st army was considered the best equipped and most invincible army on the planet and holding the high ground. The Americans wanted nothing to do with war against the Germans until after Canada eliminated this army for them and they could then enter the war and claim the spoils for their bankers. America hide under the skirt of Canada fearing the worst, as Canada previously had faced this same army under horrendous circumstances.
Two years earlier almost to the day Canada faced the worlds first chemical warfare attack at Ypres on April 22 1915 by this same German Army. More than 6000 Canadians died in that attack as the British and French fled their positions, and Canada stood strong and held back a German army more than ten times our size against all odds. Everything was killed even the insects by the chlorine gas attacks on the Canadian positions. In typical Canadian style it was a young private that had a chemistry class in high school and remembered that urine was high in alkaline and would neutralize the chlorine gas… word went down the line and Canadians urinated on their shirts and held them to their face to survive the chlorine only to be faced with an army 10 times its size. The Germans were not expecting any resistance and the Allies were saved to fight another day by Canadian resolve.
So in the end when Canada fought this Army again at Vimy Ridge it was an all out effort… all escape routes were cut off and no prisoners were taken… it was a complete vanquishing of the heart of the German army… a war the Germans had been winning now turned against them and the Americans finally felt safe entering the war.
Vimy shaped the world we live in today, because… Germany didn’t rule Europe, Britain was force to recognize Canada as a sovereign nation, Britain was compelled to give up Empire with Canada at its center and instead both Britain and France were compelled to grant sovereignty to all their colonies in the form of Commonwealth… all of which the former colonies owe their sovereignty to Canada indirectly and the heroics of Canadians at Vimy Ridge… America of course went on to clean up Europe and become the worlds sole super power… as Canada after Vimy had fought its battle and gave the spoils to the Allies.
The whole world owes a lot to the Canadians that fought and took Vimy Ridge breaking the German army and as such its one of the defining battles of the modern era.
IMHO they were the greatest generation of Canadians.
Also at the time one in six citizens of BC went off to fight that battle. The highest percentage of any population in the British Empire to fight in WW1.
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