Student Guide Program Background

The Student Guide Program in France began in 1963 when the Treasury Board authorized Veterans Affairs Canada to engage and pay three guides to work at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial located in Vimy, France.

In 1997 the guide program expanded to the Newfoundland Beaumont-Hamel Memorial and since then the number of guides required has been steadily increasing. In 2001, 45 Canadian students worked as guides in France, eight of them being former guides.

Canadian Guides are needed at the sites year round, and each guide is hired for a period of four months.

The guides are familiar with the sites, and the history of the First and Second World Wars, specifically Canada's role in the wars and what happened at each site. The guides take this information and blend it into a presentation which is adapted to each group of visitors.

For more information on the various sites please visit:
Vimy
Beaumont-Hamel