By Tyler Marr

P.A. gathers to remember Battle of Vimy Ridge

Apr 16, 2017 | 8:10 AM

Residents gathered alongside members of the Royal Canadian Legion Saturday to commemorate and remember the centennial anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

It was April 9, 1917 — Easter Monday at the time — when all four Canadian divisions fought side-by-side for the first time and paraded into a hail of snow, sleet, bullets and bombs to capture the ridge and deal a suffering blow to a strategic German stronghold.

It was an achievement like no other. One where both English and French forces had failed before and after the four-day battle, resulted in over 10,000 Canadians either injured or killed.

“To me, that hits home,” Cpl. Marie Mathers said, whose great-great nephew was part of the battle but fell victim to injury in the conquest to take the ridge and died shortly after returning home from his injuries.

This young man was front-of-mind for Mathers during the service.

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“He was a young fellow. The family was very well against [him] going into the army, but I have always had a soft spot for him, and I always will,” the 85-year-old said, who was ex-military herself, serving with the tank core.

“Things like this [are] very important to me.”

For Mathers, the significants of battle heralded a number of replies, but sparked a heavy sense of nationalism, as she felt the victory solidified Canada’s place in the world, and helped us grow from a mere British colony to a nation. Others say the battle also spoke to the true merit of Canadian courage and ingenuity and represents what sets us apart from the rest of the world today.

“That is when our young people were courageous and wanted to have peace and democracy. If they would not have, we would not have gotten as far as we did. They were they icons that got things going to battle,” Mathers said, noting her husband was a veteran of the Normandy landings.

Last week, thousands of Canadians alongside Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other dignitaries gathered in France at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial monument to similarly commemorate the battle.

Mathers hoped anyone who attended either ceremony took home a strong sense of remembrance. 

“I hope they put in their hats that the second world war was not the only one we had Canadians lose their lives for,” she said.

“A lot of time Canadians are pushed down by other countries…but we have always been able to show that we can do great things.”

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr