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The Canadian National Vimy Memorial

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Canada's most impressive tribute overseas to those Canadians who fought and gave their lives in the First World War is the majestic and inspiring Canadian National Vimy Memorial which overlooks the Douai Plain from the highest point of Vimy Ridge, about ten kilometres north of Arras. 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. At the base of the Memorial, these words appear in French and in English: Vimy – Honour the Legacy

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

-Inscription on monument

Carved on the walls of the monument are the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who were killed in France and whose final resting place was then unknown. Standing on the monument's wide stone terrace overlooking the broad fields and rolling hills of Northern France, one can see other places where Canadians fought and died. More than 7,000 are buried in 30 war cemeteries within a 20-kilometre radius of the Vimy Memorial. Altogether, more than 66,000 Canadian service personnel died in the First World War.

Designed by Canadian sculptor and architect Walter Seymour Allward, the monument took eleven years to build. It rests on a bed of 11,000 tonnes of concrete, reinforced with hundreds of tonnes of steel. The towering pylons and sculptured figures contain almost 6,000 tonnes of limestone brought to the site from an abandoned Roman quarry on the Adriatic Sea (in present day Croatia). The figures were carved where they now stand from huge blocks of this stone. A cloaked figure stands at the front, or east side, of the monument overlooking the Douai Plain. It was carved from a single, 30-tonne block and is the largest piece in the monument. This sorrowing fi gure of a woman represents Canada—a young nation mourning her dead. Below is a tomb, draped in laurel branches and bearing a helmet and sword.

As an important cultural resource located on a significant historic site, the restoration of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial raised serious conservation issues and presented unique technical challenges. The history of the monument's construction and the vision of its creator guided the restoration team in carrying out the work with particular care and craftsmanship. Construction and restoration of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial took place over a two-year period and was completed in 2007. The work included dismantling and rebuilding stone structures in the monument's platform and vertical walls, replacing and re-engraving damaged stone, repointing the two massive pylons, cleaning the twenty statues that adorn the monument, and improving the drainage and lighting systems.

The National War Memorial

The National War Memorial stands majestically in Confederation Square in the heart of downtown Ottawa with the Parliament Buildings and the distant Gatineau Hills in the background. Rising 21 metres from its base, the memorial consists of an arch of granite surmounted by emblematic bronze figures of Peace and Freedom. Shown advancing through the archway are 22 bronze figures symbolic of the "Great Response" of the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who answered the call to serve.

All branches of the service engaged in the war are represented. The figures are one-third greater than life size, each standing about 2.44 metres tall. Care was taken to place the group in the design at such a height from ground level that it would be possible for the public to see the figures from any point of view without undue fore-shortening of the sculptured group. Each figure is historically correct in detail of uniform and equipment and typical of the branch it represents. In the faces of the marching figures there is character and purpose, sincerity and good intent. The figures are not shown in fighting attitudes, but rather express movement and the enthusiasm and eagerness of the people.

Leading the way are infantrymen, the mainstay of the army. On the left is a Lewis gunner, on the right a kilted soldier with a Vickers machine gun. They are followed by a pilot in full flying kit and an air mechanic. A cavalryman emerges from the arch, and at his side is a mounted artilleryman. There is a field artillery piece, an 18-pounder in the rear. A sailor marches on the pilot's left. Two riflemen press through the arch, and behind them are the men and women of the support services including nursing sisters, a stretcher bearer and a lumberman with his cant hook.

The pedestal was designed to accentuate the general idea and effect of the central group of figures passing through the archway symbolizing the going forth of the people and the triumph of their achievements overseas. The general lines of the pedestal were kept as simple as possible to allow its execution in Canadian granite, the enrichment of the design in general being left to the sculptured bronze group. Canadian granite of the rose-grey type, from the Dumas Quarry at Rivière-à-Pierre near Quebec City, was chosen for the base of the memorial and for the arch because this granite is virtually free from iron, thereby reducing the possibility of staining.

The emblematic figures of peace and freedom at the top of the monument are 5.33 metres in height. The sculptor's intention was to create figures which would express the idea that they are "alighting on the world with the blessings of Victory, Peace and Liberty in the footsteps of the people's heroism and self-sacrifice who are passing through the archway below".

The area surrounding the memorial was also carefully planned in keeping with the memorial itself. Seven varieties of Canadian granite were used for the terrace, walks, and grading of the site. These were grey granite from Scotstown, Quebec, for the curbs, lower steps, wide borders and mosaic work; Lacasse white granite from Beebe, Quebec, for the narrow borders and upper steps; pink granite from Rivière-à-Pierre, Quebec, for the square tile panels; pink granite from Guenette, Quebec, for the pink mosaic work; Mackenzie green granite from Scotstown, for the green mosaic work; Rivière-à-Pierre granite for the dark pink mosaic work; and red granite form Vermillion Bay, Rainy River District, Ontario for the red mosaic.

The total height of the memorial from grade to the tip of the wings in the surmounting bronzes is approximately 21.34 metres. The overall length at the lowest step of the pedestal is 15.9 metres, and the width, 8.08 metres. The archway is 3.05 metres wide, 2.44 metres deep and 8.03 metres high. Five hundred and three tonnes of granite and 32 tonnes of bronze were used for the construction. The memorial rests on a massive block of reinforced concrete which in turn is based on steel columns sunk to bedrock.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders Fields.

John McCrae

It is fitting that the leading figures of the monument are infantrymen. The infantry, known as the "Queen of Battle" bore the brunt of four years of savage fighting on the Western Front, in a line of trenches which stretched 965 kilometres from the Belgian coast through France to the frontiers of Switzerland. Fifty-four Victoria Crosses, the Commonwealth's highest military decoration for bravery, were awarded to infantrymen in the First World War. This soldier marches forward carrying the "basic load" which weighed 27 kilograms (60 pounds) and included a rifle, bayonet, ammunition, grenades, food, extra clothing, and possibly a shovel or pick axe.

This infantryman stands at the far left just beneath the mouth of the cavalryman's horse. He has his rifle over his right shoulder, and there is a lock of hair falling from under the brim of his helmet. The respirator he is wearing was a significant item in a soldier's kit for poison chlorine gas was introduced by the Germans at Ypres, Belgium in 1915, in an attempt to break the stalemate of the trench warfare. In holding their lines in the face of this deadly new weapon Canadians established a reputation as a formidable fighting force.

On the far left, with a Lewis Machine Gun over his right shoulder, is another infantryman, portrayed as older than the rest. The Lewis Gun was used in the trenches by the infantry battalions whereas the Vickers Gun, as carried by the highland soldier (page 29), was used by the Machine Gun Corps in the later part of the war. The Lewis Gun fired a .303 cartridge at a rate of 500 rounds per minute.

Just in front of the cavalryman's horse and to the left of the pilot stands another infantryman. His curly moustache "the soldier's garden" was in vogue during the war and it was tended with pride, sometimes waxed and twisted into spikes! This, however, was in sharp contrast to the conditions under which the men lived and fought. For months on end, in mud and rat infested trenches, they faced the realities of dirt, disease and death.

This soldier stands just inside the arch beside the cavalryman's horse. Outfitted as an infantryman, he might well represent one of the 3,500 native Canadians who served in the war overseas. Although no specific unit was raised and manned by native Canadians, the 114th Battalion - Brock's Rangers was raised in Haldimand County and the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario. Two entire companies were formed under the command of native Canadian officers.

This kilted infantry soldier is in the right front position just to the left of the sailor. He is carrying the barrel of a Vickers Machine Gun over his left shoulder. There were 28 Scottish regiments in the war, eight of them in the fighting brigades, the remainder used as reinforcements. One Highland Battalion, the 16th, won four Victoria Crosses, including one by an 18 year old piper who died at the Somme, in France, in 1916.

This infantryman, next to the kilted soldier, is carrying his rifle over his right shoulder. His youthful appearance is appropriate since many of the soldiers of the First World War were still in their teens. Although a soldier was supposed to be 18 before going overseas, many enlisted early and were in action while still underage.

This soldier, with his rifle placed horizontally on his left shoulder, is just back of the artilleryman's horse inside the right side of the arch. He could represent the Motor Machine Gun Corps, a force of some 16,000 who were responsible for devastating firepower on the battlefield. With their speed, mobility and remarkable fire power, the Corps was a vital factor in breaking the stalemate of trench warfare on the Western Front.

The artilleryman is mounted on the horse on the right of the monument. The role of the artillery overseas was to assist the infantry by means of heavy bombardment of enemy lines. Artillery fire, using guns of various calibres and trench mortars, was directed by officers well forward who sent back corrections by means of field phones, signal lamps and signal flares. The horse shown here was one of a team used to pull the 18-pounder gun that remains at the rear of the monument.

The sailor, located on the far right, wears the "cap tally" of HMCS Stadacona. When the war began, Canada had only an embryonic naval service consisting of less than 350 men and two ships. Nevertheless, the Royal Canadian Navy had an important role in the war, primarily as a coastal patrol force. From a handful of men in 1914, the RCN grew to more than 5,500 officers and men in 1918, with some one hundred war vessels. Canada also made a direct contribution to the war at sea by providing men and ships for the Royal Navy and for other Allied powers.

The pilot and the air mechanic stand side-by-side in front of the mounted artilleryman. The air mechanic is wearing his walking out uniform and wedge cap. Canadian airmen played a particularly significant and brilliant role in the war in the air. No fewer than 25,000 Canadians served with the British air service as pilots, observers and mechanics, in every theatre of the war. Canadian airmen won more than 800 decorations and awards for valour including three Victoria Crosses.

The pilot is shown wearing his flying kit complete with leather helmet and goggles. While mud and shells turned the battlefields of France and Belgium into nightmares of horror, the men who flew the rickety planes with few instruments and no parachutes had a glimpse of the fame and glory once expected of war. The fighter pilot was one of the elite, one of the most daring, and his job was one of the most dangerous. One-third of all the fliers died in combat, among them 1,600 Canadians.

The cavalry soldier is mounted on the horse on the left of the monument. The Canadian Cavalry Brigade fought with distinction with British formations during the war. Three members of the brigade won the Victoria Cross. The role of the cavalry was to disrupt the enemy's rear areas after a breakthrough of the front lines; to seek information by reconnaissance; and to seize the advantage when the enemy was disorganized or retreating. However, the introduction of the machine gun and the tank spelled the end of cavalry warfare. The last Canadian action on horseback took place during the final advance to Mons in 1918.

The sapper at the rear of the arch carries a pickaxe over his right shoulder. He was a member of the Canadian Engineers who were in great demand because the condition of the land in France hampered the mobility of the troops. They were responsible for building roads, bridges and tunnels, and for water supplies and major fortifications. In the face of great danger, engineers, skilled in underground mining burrowed beneath enemy trenches to lay explosives. One engineer won a Victoria Cross by capturing a bridge and preventing the enemy from destroying it.

This soldier, to the rear of the arch, carries a railway spike hammer over his right shoulder. Canadian railway troops, often under shellfire, laid and maintained most of the light railway networks on the Western Front. The railways carried men, ammunition and supplies to the front; on the return journey they brought back the wounded and soldiers going for rest. In most cases the work of the railway troops had to be done at night because they could be seen from the enemy front lines. These men also fought as infantry, especially during the German offensives of 1918.

With his broad-brimmed hat and his cant hook over his right shoulder, this forester is easy to locate at the rear of the monument. The Canadian Forestry Corps produced railroad ties, logs for road building and timber for major fortifications. To supply the much-needed lumber, inaccessible from overseas because of submarine warfare, the Corps began working the forest of Britain. Operations were later expanded to France, and by the end of the war there were 12,000 men of the Forestry Corps in France as well as almost 10,000 more in England.

Inside the arch, at the rear beside the cavalryman's horse stands this soldier. He could represent those who served in the Canadian Army Service Corps. They supplied the fighting troops with food, ammunition and other supplies.

With his dust goggles on the front of his field service cap and his sheepskin coat, the despatch rider stands out at the left rear of the monument. The despatch rider rode a motorcycle, delivering vital messages from one headquarters unit to another.

To the rear of the sailor on the right side of the monument stands a member of the Canadian Corps of Signals. From his shoulder hangs a field telephone that was used to communicate in the trenches and between unit headquarters. The 4,000 members of the corps also used carrier pigeons, telegraphs and radios, to transmit messages.

The stretcher bearer is to the right rear of the monument, just ahead of the nurse. Stretcher bearers had first aid stations in the forward trenches and also accompanied the attacking infantry. At times, because of the mud, it took four men to carry a stretcher. The stretcher bearers in the medical units moved patients into and out of hospitals and hospital trains.

The two nurses are to the rear of the monument behind the arch. The British request for two general hospitals to be sent from Canada opened the way for nursing sisters to be included in the first Canadian contingent to go overseas. Nurses and doctors worked to the rear of the front lines where casualty clearance stations had been established for the sick and wounded soldiers. The more seriously wounded were later evacuated to England where, by 1918, there were over 40,000 hospital beds available.

During the First World War, more than 21,000 men and women wore the badge of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, 3,141 of them nursing sisters. Altogether eight Canadian General Hospitals and ten Stationary Hospitals (as well as three small Forestry Corps Hospitals) served overseas outside of the United Kingdom. Among them were the units which accompanied the Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force and units whose duties took them to the Eastern Mediterranean.