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Canadian National Vimy Memorial

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  • Francis Henry Hemsley (1880 - 1917)
    1916 Canada Census - together with his wife, Adina Cresswell and his children Doreen Patricia and George Francis Hugh living in Neepawa, MB; occupation - farmerRank: LieutenantForce: ArmyRegiment: Can...
  • Reginald Robert Hope Hebden (1887 - 1917)
    Final resting place unknown. Name listed on the Vimy Memorial.Rank: PrivateForce: ArmyUnit: Canadian Infantry (Manitoba Regiment)Division: 78th BattalionService Number: 147476

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial honours all Canadians who served during the First World War. The Memorial bears the names of those who died in France with no known grave. It is located at the site of Canada’s victory during the Battle of Vimy Ridge. (from Veterans Affairs Canada)

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

Inscribed on the ramparts of the Vimy Memorial are the names of over 11,000 Canadian soldiers who were posted as 'missing, presumed dead' in France. A plaque at the entrance to the memorial states that the land for the battlefield park, 91.18 hectares in extent, was 'the free gift in perpetuity of the French nation to the people of Canada'. Construction of the massive work began in 1925, and 11 years later, on July 26, 1936, the monument was unveiled by King Edward VIII. The park surrounding the Vimy Memorial was created by horticultural experts. Canadian trees and shrubs were planted in great masses to resemble the woods and forests of Canada. Wooded park lands surround the grassy slopes of the approaches around the Vimy Memorial. Trenches and tunnels have been restored and preserved and the visitor can picture the magnitude of the task that faced the Canadian Corps on that distant dawn when history was made. On April 3, 2003, the Government of Canada designated April 9th of each year as a national day of remembrance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. (from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.)

(all photographs courtesy of Karen Mason)

For further reading

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/vimy

REGIMENTS

NEW BRUNSWICK

1. Fredericton

NOVA SCOTIA

1. Sydney

2. Truro

QUEBEC

1. Laval

2. Montreal

3. St. Hyacinthe

4. Sherbrooke

5. Westmount

ONTARIO

1. Hamilton

2. Kingston

3. London

4. Oshawa

5. Ottawa

6. Thunder Bay

7. Toronto

8. Windsor

MANITOBA

1. Winnipeg

Hebden, Reginald Robert Hope 78th Battalion

Hemsley, Francis Henry 16th Battalion

SASKATCHEWAN

1. Moose Jaw

2. Regina

3. Saskatoon

ALBERTA

1. Calgary

2. Edmonton

3. Medicine Hat

BRITISH COLUMBIA

1. Kelowna

2. New Westminster

3. Vancouver

4. Victoria