Saturday, July 12, 2014

From Vimy Ridge Canadian Memorial, France to In Flanders Field Museum and Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres, Belgium

[0545hrs]
Alarms awoke the 5 VPD contingent who were joined by officers Brian and Dawn from the Toronto Police Department, and 200 soldiers from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Regiment. After a swift and chaotic breakfast in Lille, France, the convoy moved off for the first Remembrance Service of the tour, Vimy Ridge.

11,285 names are engraved onto the Vimy memorial. All those named lost their lives  and rest in unknown graves. Vast swathes of land on the battlefield lie offlimits – part graveyard, part minefield comprising unexploded bombs from the War.

Canada’s immensely inspiring tribute to those who fought and gave their lives sits atop Vimy Ridge, 10km north of the town of Arras. The VPD contingent winded through preserved trenches, around huge mine craters and a network of tunnels that took the Canadian Corps to The Front between April 9 and 12 in 1917 from where they successfully took the ridge after suffering very heavy casualties.

A VPD patch from atop the Vimy memorial, worn by Constable Scott looking out on the battlefield below.

The VPD and Toronto Police contingent drove to Ypres from Vimy Saturday afternoon, and spent many hours absorbed by the exhibits that fill the In Flanders Fields Museum.

The In Flanders’ Fields Museum is devoted to the study of World War I and occupies the second floor of the Cloth Hall, Ypres in Belgium. The building was virtually destroyed by artillery fire during the First World War.It has since been reconstructed and the museum has reopened in June 2012 and includes a new World War I research centre.

This tribute to the British Empire sits atop the Menin Gate.

“To the armies of the British Empire who stood here from 1914 to 1918
and to those of their dead who have no known grave.”

Every evening the main road through Ypres is closed by the Police at Menin Gate. Buglers from the local Fire Department march in, and at 8pm each night, Last Post and Reveille is played, parted with a two minute silence for reflection. During this time all the shops in the town are closed.

[1900hrs]
At 7pm the five Vancouver Police Officers, in patrol uniform, were tasked with forming an honour guard in front of the main cenotaph beneath the Menin Gate.

Crowds of a thousand or more spectators crammed the main street full as the VPD took the salute at 8pm when Last Post bellowed out. After the silence members from the crowd shouted out “Thank You Canada!” and broke into the National Anthem.

 

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HISTORY BRIEF > Battle of Vimy Ridge:

The Battle of Vimy Ridge, a painting by Richard Jack. Canadian War Museum.

The Canadians moved to the front lines across from Vimy Ridge in late autumn 1917. The Battle of Vimy Ridge would be the first time all four divisions of the Canadian Corps worked together as one formation. The planning and preparations for the battle were extensive. The Canadian victory at Vimy Ridge region in France is thought to have been a key turning point in shaping Canada as a nation.

~ From Veterans Affairs Canada