Canadian National Vimy Memorial - Vimy, France. - World War I Memorials and Monuments on Waymarking.com

Canada's most impressive tribute overseas to those Canadians who fought and gave their lives in the First World War is the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Here, at what was the ridge of Hill 145, you can overlook the Douai Plain. The Memorial does more than mark the site of the engagement that Canadians were to remember with more pride than any other operation of the First World War. It stands as a tribute to all who served their country in battle in that four-year struggle and particularly to those who gave their lives. Around the memorial are twenty sculptured figures representing such ideas as peace, justice, mourning and grief. At the base of the Memorial, these words appear in French and in English:

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

On the walls of the monument are carved the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers killed in France and whose final resting place are unknown. Overlooking the countryside around it you can see other places where Canadians fought and died. More than 7,000 are buried in 30 cemeteries within a 10 mile radius of the Vimy Memorial. More than 66,000 Canadian service personnel died in the First World War.

This huge memorial took 11 years to build and was designed by Walter Seymour Allward, a Canadian sculptor. The cloaked figure of a women standing before the memorial represents Canada, a young nation mourning her dead. It stands at the east side of the memorial overlooking the Douai Plain. It was carved on site from a single 30 ton block of limestone, and overall the tall pylons and figures contain 6,000 tons of limestone transported to the site from an abandoned Roman quarry in (present day) Croatia.

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial was unveiled by King Edward VIII on 26th July 1936.

Date the Monument or Memorial was built or dedicated: 07/26/1936 Private or Public Monument?: Government Name of the Private Organization or Government Entity that built this Monument: Canadian Goverment Geographic Region where the Monument is located: Europe Website for this Monument: [Web Link] Physical Address of Monument: Canadian National Vimy Memorial Route des Canadiens Vimy, Nord Pas de Calais France Rate this waymark: Photo or photos will be uploaded.: yes

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