"In those few minutes, I witnessed the birth of a nation."  

That was the way Brigadier-General A.E. Ross described the battle of Vimy Ridge.  It beame a defining moment in Canadian history as soldiers from every region  in Canada fought shoulder to shoulder for the first time.  18 months later, the Great War ended.  Because of the valiantry of Canadians at Vimy Ridge and in other battles, Canada became a separate signature on the Treaty of Versailles which officially ended the war.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge took place 100 years ago today.  In Airdrie, the Royal Canadian Legion held a commemorative ceremony yesterday afternoon at the Lav-III Memorial at the Nose Creek Museum.

Over 100 people came out on a cool, windy day to remember the more than 3,500 lives lost and 7,000 injured during the battle.  Those on hand included members of the Legion, Canadian veterans and dignitaries including Mayor Peter Brown, MLA Angela Pitt and MP Blake Richards, all of whom spoke about the tremendous sacrifice of the Canadian military.

Bill Drummond with the Legion is a veteran of the British Royal Corps of Military Police from 1959 to 1963.  He says Vimy Ridge put Canada on the road to nationhood.

"Prior to Vimy we were basically a colony of Britain, and in that moment in time we became a nation on our own.  You can hear my Scottish accent.  I'm very proud to be Canadian."  

Drummond fears the current generation isn't learning as much as they should about the history of war.  "I feel we're not giving our children as much historical evidence as I had as a young man in high school.  If we don't teach the kids about history, then we'll make the same mistakes again, and God forbid we should do that."

Norm McCrae is a Canadian veteran who also attended the ceremony.  McCrae was in the Air Force from 1985 through 2007.  He served in Alberta and did a UN tour in Nicaragua during the war there.  McCrae comes from a long line of military and the day meant a great deal to him.

"I'm a third generation veteran.  My father was a veteran, along with eight of my uncles, including one who was killed in Korea, and both of my grandfathers were in the first world war.  On my dad's side, my grandfather was actually shot and severely injured during the Battle of Cambrai, just before the war ended, so this means a lot to me."  

McCrae calls Vimy Ridge a massive success for Canada.  "We did something that nobody else could.  The British and the French had lost many men trying to capture that hill and had never done it.  The Canadians did it with a fraction of the casualties they had and everybody looked at it almost like it was a huge wonder."  

The name "McCrae" may sound familiar to someone who has studied the First World War.  Norm says his grandfather was a cousin to Lieutenant John McCrae, the man famous for writing the poem "In Flanders Field."

A defining moment for Canada.  A unifying moment for a country.  A moment that we as Canadians will always remember.  

 

Questions, comments or story ideas? Email us at news@discoverairdrie.com