The Canadian National Vimy Memorial

Vimy Memorial

The "mourning mother (Canada)"

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is one of Canada's most important overseas war memorials to those who served their country in World War I and risked or gave their lives during the war. It was constructed as the National Memorial for Canada's 66,000 war dead and is located in France on the site of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. France deemed the area surrounding the monument to be Canadian territory, as an expression of gratitude to the Canadian people for their sacrifice during the war. The entrance to the park bears the sign "the free gift in perpetuity of the French nation to the people of Canada". Image File history File links studiedauthenticity. ... Image File history File links studiedauthenticity. ... Image File history File links homepages. ... Image File history File links homepages. ... Image File history File links http://www. ... Image File history File links http://www. ... This memorial in England lists the names of soldiers who died in the First World War. ... Combatants Allied Powers: France Italy Russia Serbia United Kingdom United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg Reinhard... Combatants Allies Central Powers Commanders Julian Byng Arthur Currie Ludwig von Falkenhausen Strength 30,000 Unknown Casualties 3,598 dead 7,104 wounded 20,000 The Battle of Vimy Ridge was one of the opening battles in a larger British campaign known as the Battle of Arras. ...

The memorial stands atop Hill 145 near the towns of Vimy and Givenchy-en-Gohelle, in the Pas-de-Calais département of northern France. The land for the site of the memorial (about 1 km²) was granted in perpetuity to Canada by France in 1922, in recognition of the sacrifices made by the Canadian Armed Forces during the war and for capturing Vimy Ridge in April 1917. The memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii commemorates American dead from wars in the Pacific. ... Vimy is city in northern France, in the Pas-de-Calais département. ... Givenchy-en-Gohelle is a commune of northern France. ... Pas-de-Calais is a département in northern France named after the strait which it borders. ... The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France and many former French colonies, roughly analogous to English counties. ... The Canadian Forces (CF) (Fr: Forces canadiennes (FC)) are the combined branches of the military of Canada. ...

The memorial was designed by Canadian architect and sculptor, the late Walter Seymour Allward. His design was selected from 160 submissions by Canadians who participated in a competition held in the early 1920s. Construction of the memorial commenced in 1925 and took 11 years. The memorial was officially unveiled on July 26, 1936 by King Edward VIII, in the presence of French President Albert Lebrun and over 50,000 Canadian and French veterans and their families [1]. Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... An Italian Futurist sculpture by Umberto Boccioni at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City (MoMA). ... Walter Seymour Allward (November 18, 1876 - April 24, 1955) was a Canadian sculptor, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who created many works, but, was probably most famous for the Vimy Ridge Memorial. ... July 26 is the 207th day (208th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 158 days remaining. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David Windsor; later The Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India from the death of his father, George V (1910–36... The President of France, known officially as the President of the Republic (Président de la République in French), is Frances elected Head of State. ... Albert Lebrun (August 29, 1871 - March 6, 1950) was a French politician, President of France from 1932 to 1940, and as such was the last president of the Third Republic. ...

The two main pylons of the memorial, representing Canada and France, tower 27 metres above the base of the monument. The memorial includes various stone sculptures which exhibit a wealth of symbolism and assist visitors in contemplating the memorial as a whole. Due to the height of Vimy Ridge, the topmost stone sculpture — representing peace — is approximately 110 metres above the Lens Plain to the east. The sculptures were created by Canadian artists, and record and illuminate the sacrifice of all who served during the war and, in particular, to the more than 66,000 men who lost their lives. The names of the 11,285 Canadian soldiers who died in France but who have no known grave are carved on the memorial (the names of those who died in Flanders are on the Menin Gate). Lens is commune in northern France, in the Pas-de-Calais département. ... Flanders (Dutch: Vlaanderen) has several main meanings: the social, cultural and linguistical, scientific and educational, economical and political community of the Flemings; some prefer to call this the Flemish community (others refer to this as the Flemish nation) which is, with over 6 million inhabitants, the majority of all Belgians... The Menin Gate Memorial at the eastern exit of the town of Ypres (known as Ieper in Dutch) in Flanders, Belgium, marks the starting point for one of the main roads out of the town that led Allied soldiers to the front line during World War I. Designed by Sir...

Visitors approaching the front of the monument will see one of its central figures: a woman, hooded and cloaked, facing eastward toward the new day. Her eyes are downcast and her chin rests on her hand. Below her is a tomb, draped in laurel branches and bearing a helmet. This grieving figure represents Canada — a young nation mourning her fallen sons.

The 20 statues present on the Vimy Memorial site were originally sculpted by Allward in roughly life-size out of unfired clay. These were then replicated in more durable plaster, and the plaster copies were sent to France, where French stonecarvers replicated them again in stone, while doubling their size. The plaster working copies, nearly destroyed in the 1960s, are now on display in Canada, with the Canadian War Museum showing 17 and the Military Communications and Electronics Museum attached to Canadian Forces Base Kingston showing the remaining 3.[2] The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Canada. ... Canadian Forces Base Kingston (also CFB Kingston or 1 Wing Kingston) is a Canadian Forces Base located in Kingston, Ontario. ...

Today the site is designated by the Canadian government as a National Historic Site. In addition to the monument itself the memorial includes a small museum, an area of preserved trenches and tunnels, and nearby cemeteries of those killed in the battle. In recent times the memorial has come to symbolize many important values for Canadians, including peace in the world, liberty, the rule of international law, and standing against aggression. National Historic Site is a designation for a protected area of historic significance. ... World peace is a future ideal of freedom, peace and happiness among and within all nations. ... Liberty is generally considered a concept of political philosophy and identifies the condition in which an individual has immunity from the arbitrary exercise of authority. ... The rule of law is the principle that governmental authority is legitimately exercised only in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws adopted and enforced in accordance with established procedure. ... International law (also called public international law to distinguish from private international law, i. ...

In 2004 the memorial was closed for restoration work, including general cleaning and the recarving of names. The statues will be moved off-site and also cleaned and restored. The restored memorial will be inaugurated on April 9, 2007, the 90th anniversary of the battle. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 9 is the 99th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (100th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) will be a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The rehabilitation plan for Vimy Memorial is part of the Canadian Battlefield Memorials Restoration Project, directed by Canada's Department of Veterans Affairs in cooperation with other Canadian departments, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, consultants and specialists in military history. The Azmak Cemetery, near Suvla Bay, Turkey, contains the graves of some of the soldiers who died during the Gallipoli Campaign. ...

Trivia

Hitler visits the memorial after the fall of France.

• The magazine After the Battle published a photographic history of the site following the repatriation of Canada's Unknown Soldier, which included a ceremony at the Vimy Memorial. One of these photographs depicted the memorial's most notorious visitor: Adolf Hitler. In 1940, after his armies conquered France, Hitler toured the Vimy Memorial and its preserved trenches. Hitler had been decorated twice for bravery as an infantryman during the Great War and saw combat in the general vicinity of Vimy, often against Commonwealth soldiers in similar trenches. While Hitler had no qualms about destroying culturally significant locations in France and even ordered Paris razed in 1944 (an order that was ignored), Hitler's belief that he had kinship with soldiers of the First World War meant that Allied monuments and military cemeteries throughout conquered France remained safe from harm.^{[citation needed]}
• The novel The Stone Carvers, by Jane Urquhart, is set amongst the creation of the memorial.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (396x623, 80 KB) Summary From a WWII era German Newspaper showing Hitler at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (396x623, 80 KB) Summary From a WWII era German Newspaper showing Hitler at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. ... In many wars, huge numbers of soldiers have died without their remains being identified. ... Hitler redirects here. ...   City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Coordinates Time Zone CET (GMT +1) Administration Country France Région ÃŽle-de-France Département Paris (75) Subdivisions 20 arrondissements Mayor Bertrand Delanoë  (PS) (since 2001) City Statistics Land area... The Stone Carvers is a 2001 historical and World War I novel by the Canadian writer Jane Urquhart. ... Jane Urquhart (born June 21, 1949) is a Canadian author. ...

External links

• Vimy Memorial - Veteran Affairs Canada
• Vimy War Memorial Gallery, including photos of Hitler's visit
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 50.379408° 2.774134°