Preserving History
Vimy Ridge Memorial gets much needed restoration
Canadian Forces members – representing the divisions that fought at Vimy 90 years ago – perform a Sunset Ceremony behind the memorial on April 7th, 2007.
Beneath the unrelenting roar of artillery fire in the early morning of April 9, 1917, all four divisions of the Canadian Corps moved to attack the Germans at Vimy Ridge, in Pas-de-Calais, France. For many, the battle would become known as Canada’s coming-of-age: for the first time in the Great War, the divisions attacked as a single fighting force and were victorious. The victory was even more remarkable because previous attempts to take the Ridge by the French and British had failed with catastrophic losses. In fact, the victory at Vimy marked the only significant success of the Allied spring offensive that year. Since 1936, the former battlefield has been the home of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Its unmistakable presence has been a constant reminder to locals of Canada’s sacrifice in the First World War and is visited by thousands every year. Reaching 10 storeys into the sky and situated on the highest hill in the area, the memorial can be seen from miles away.
But time and weathering had taken its toll on the monument. The original method of construction led to cracks in the limestone allowing water to infiltrate; the base of the monument had been eroding; and many of the 11,285 names of the Canadian soldiers listed as having no known grave had become illegible.
Certainly there was a revulsion toward the war and a naïve belief that it could (or should) never happen again; everyone raised in those days remembers it. Yet this was tempered in Canada by the elation that was always felt when the word “Vimy” came up. You might attack the war and all its horrors, but you would not attack Vimy. Vimy stood for more than a battle won; it stood for Canadian ingenuity, Canadian dash and daring, Canadian enterprise…
Pierre Berton, Vimy
To preserve the memory of the battle and Canada’s sacrifice, the restoration of the Vimy monument was initiated as part of the broader Canadian Battlefield Memorials Restoration Project. PWGSC provided project and design management services to a team that was headed by Veterans Affairs Canada.
The work also combined the skills and knowledge of other departments such as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada as well as private sector consultants from Canada and France. Other contributions from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Parks Canada and financial support from the Treasury Board Secretariat all made the project happen.
The Canadian Battlefield Memorials Restoration Project restored eight notable Canadian battlefield memorials from the First World War. Five war memorials devoted to the Dominion of Newfoundland (which joined Confederation in 1949) also received funding.
 PWGSC Minister Michael M Fortier visiting the graves of Canadian soldiers from the First World War.
PWGSC has a longstanding history with these memorials. Since 1996, the Department’s Heritage Conservation Directorate has provided Veterans Affairs Canada with a variety of technical expertise and advisory services related to the project.
Two-thirds of the $30 million budget went toward restoration of the Vimy monument, which is the largest of 13 in locations across France and Belgium.
The restoration of the Vimy monument required dismantling and rebuilding parts of the platform and walls; replacing and re-engraving the damaged stone; cleaning the 20 statues on the monument; and repairing the drainage system. To maintain the integrity of the monument, the original limestone quarry in Croatia was re-opened for replacement stone.
With such extensive repairs needed, Andy Butler, a PWGSC Conservation Technologist Analyst, feels that with proper maintenance, the memorial will endure for years to come. “I am extremely pleased with what the team was able to accomplish. Considering its diverse and multi-national character, the team worked well together and stayed on track despite the tight timeline and budgetary constraints.”
Did you know?
The Vimy Ridge monument was designed by Canadian sculptor Walter Seymour Allward. The massive monument took 11 years to build at a cost of $1.5 million (in 1936 dollars). The location – a 117-hectare site of the original battlefield – was given by France in 1922 in perpetuity so that Canada could build a monument and establish a permanent national park to honour its war dead from the First World War.
On April 9th of this year, thousands attended a ceremony on-site to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and rededicate the newly restored monument. Attendees included Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, former French President Jacques Chirac and PWGSC Minister Michael M Fortier.
“It was a very touching ceremony,” said Minister Fortier. “I was struck by the fact that this monument – an enduring symbol of courage and sacrifice – had been returned to its former magnificence through the love, skill and pride of the project team that included many PWGSC employees.”
More than 3,000 Canadian veterans of the Great War attended the unveiling of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial on July 26, 1936. |
