Category: Beaverbrook Blog

Today, our BVP 2019 recipients visited the Mons Memorial Museum and the St-Symphorien cemetery where both German and Commonwealth soldiers are buried. In the afternoon, they went to Cambrai to visit the cathedral in front of which Lily and Rose made a presentation on the daily lives of soldiers. Finally, they visited the Bourlon Wood Canadian War Memorial. (Please note: participants will blog in their language of preference).

 

Something that has struck me about my time here in Belgium and France with the BVP 2019 is the way different cultures and linguistic groups function together in such proximity. This is a concept that I have been considering throughout the visits to memorials, monuments, and museums.  When visiting the St-Symphorien cemetery today, I was shocked by the landscaping. It was very effective; dare I say beautiful. Over the program we have visited both Commonwealth and German cemeteries. There are vast differences in the styles of them, reflecting each country`s respective attitude about the result of the war. However, in St-Symphorien, both the victorious white commonwealth headstones and the manicured gardens were combined with the darker German stones and towering trees. The cemetery was very effective, it was powerful, but it was melancholy. This combination of landscaping, for me, represents the true result of the war. Nobody won. Germans died alongside Commonwealth soldiers, and they were commemorated together. I wonder how the Belgian people feel about this combination cemetery, as many protested the German cemeteries, but are so welcoming of the Commonwealth ones, due to the liberation. What I have learned today, is that you cannot draw boxes around people in life or death and expect them to fit in. 

-Meaghan Bulger

 

 

During the day, we visited Bourlon Wood Memorial. There we broke into small groups to discuss our opinions on when the First World War truly ended. While many would say that the war ended with the Armistice in November 1918, our group discussed opinions.  I see the end of the war as a process like throwing a rock into a pond. The initial splash and noise are similar to the chaos of the actual combat aspect of the war. Next the water that was thrown up in the splash comes down, like how it took a little bit of time for allied politicians to decide how to proceed after the war with the Treaty of Versailles. Finally, there are the ripples which radiate out for some time after the rock has settled. This is similar to the long-lasting effects the war had on different groups of people. For example, after the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had to pay large reparations to the wining allied counties. This left the German economy in ruins for years and in turn contributed to Hitler’s rise to power. Another example is of the strong anti-German sentiment that existed in many communities that had been occupied by the Germans during the war. During our visit to the Mons Memorial Museum our guide told us about some women accused of collaboration with the Germans and who were publicly humiliated after the war by having their hair cut off. Visiting these towns and cities and hearing the stories of the people here has given me a new perspective on the war and the people who live here.

-Noah Korver

 

Today we visited the St. Symphorien Military Cemetery, a place where both Germans and Commonwealth soldiers are commemorated. It is a place of mourning, where fallen soldiers had been honored and remembered, irrespective of their background.

Today, I would distinctly remember one moment. As I walked through this graveyard I couldn’t help but notice two rows of stones that had been placed on opposite sides of a path. Looking at one side, I could see the names of the first soldiers who died in the First World War. Looking at the other side, I could see the names of those who had died four years later, just prior to armistice. The deaths of these soldiers marked the beginning and end of the First World War. These soldiers had different pasts, had different lives ahead of them, yet their paths, cut short by the tragedies of war, seemed to have somehow led them to the same resting place. Walking in between these rows of gravestones, it was almost as if I could see these rows and rows of soldiers standing by me. It was emotionally moving. 

The 513 soldiers honored in this cemetery comprised only a fraction of all those who lost their lives to the war. The First World War was costly, paid for by the deaths of millions, and it is up to us to remember them.

 -Rose He

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Today, our Beaverbrook Vimy Prize students toured the Ypres Salient with our wonderful guide Lucas. Sights included the Christmas Truce Memorial, Hill 60, the Irish Peace Park, the Passchendaele Memorial and Tyne Cot cemetery. In the evening, the students attended the Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate where Maya, Jack and Andelina laid a wreath to commemorate the fallen. (Please note: students will blog in their language of preference). 

 

Today, at the Tyne Cot Cemetery, I had the honour to be able to share the story of my Great Granduncle, Frank Rogers at his grave marker. The feelings I had were indescribable, I will do my best to explain some of the emotions I felt. Prior to presenting Frank’s biography I had told myself that I would not cry. However, as I was reading the story of his life, I could not stop myself. Something seemed to overtake me. A feeling almost as if I were talking to Frank himself, but there was a sort of barrier or wall between us. A barrier that allowed me to see him and his life, but he was unable to see me and my life. I wonder if he heard the promise that I made to him to never let his story be forgotten, and that I will never let him be forgotten. I hope that I have made him proud, and I am so incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to be able to pass on his story in the country where his story ended. It was like he was lost and forgotten, but as I embarked on the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize program, I was able to find him and bring him back to life.

-Maya Burgess-Stansfield

 

Les chaperons qui nous accompagnent lors de ce séjour m’ont donné, aujourd’hui, la chance incroyable de participer au défilé de la cérémonie de la Porte de Menin, aux côtés de vétérans et de jeunes de la Royal Air Force britannique. Je n’aurais jamais pensé avoir l’honneur de me tenir là, portant le rôle important, quoique si abstrait, de commémorer des dizaines de milliers d’hommes dont la vie persiste grâce à la mémoire. Les rayons du soleil couchant transperçaient les puits de lumière du haut de la Porte de Menin; l’orchestre faisait chanter leurs hautbois et leurs trompettes; un groupe irlandais modérait la cérémonie par le ra de leurs tambours. Alors qu’une foule d’Yprois, de touristes ou bien de pèlerins silencieux et attentifs remplissaient l’arche célèbre, je voyais devant moi les milliers de noms gravés dans la pierre de marbre. Pour un instant, je les voyais tous devant moi, droits et courageux comme je tentais de l’être, sur une plaine belge accidentée à perte de vue. Soudain, je faisais fi des opinions divergentes sur la validité de la guerre, des différentes raisons pour lesquelles l’on pouvait se battre, de la propagande parfois trompeuse sur les valeurs ou sur le sacrifice, et tout ce qu’il restait autour de moi et en moi n’étaient que l’émotion, la vie et la mort. Il y avait tant de noms, tant de vie, tant de mort, c’était presque irréel de témoigner de l’extrême humain de manière aussi vivide. Je pris mon courage à deux mains et commençai à marcher derrière des hommes dont le nom aurait pu se trouver sur la Porte de Menin, la couronne à la main, voyant des regards curieux ou bien larmoyants dans la foule. C’est une expérience qui bouleversa ma perspective sur l’humanité et que je n’aurais jamais pensé vivre dans ma vie. 

 – Andelina Habel-Thurton

 

Lors de notre départ du Canada, je ne comprenais qu’un point de vue au sujet d’une guerre à plusieurs perspectives. Le Parc irlandais de la paix incluait une plaque qui s’excusait d’avoir participé dans une guerre aussi affreuse et d’avoir pris autant de vies. Notre guide nous a dit à ce moment que le mot victoire n’existe pas pour une guerre aussi longue. J’ai vu dans les villages reconstruits qu’il y a encore une atmosphère lourde concernant les guerres aujourd’hui. La souffrance des populations et l’impact sur les terrains est encore un aspect de la vie quotidienne. Nous avons visité une ferme locale dont le fermier avait trouvé des grenades actives qui datent de la Première Guerre mondiale.  J’ai aussi réalisé que les allemands avaient également une fierté de leur patrie et qu’eux aussi ont vu la perte de plusieurs vies. De leur perspective, ils étaient les véritables héros mais leur perte a créé la souffrance d’une nation entière après la Première Guerre mondiale. Je suis très reconnaissante du sacrifice qui a permis notre liberté aujourd’hui, mais je réalise qu’il faut aussi reconnaître que nous ne sommes pas le seul côté ayant souffert. Tout le monde a une perspective qui leur semble logique, et personne ne se voit comme l’ennemi. Comme notre guide a dit, le mot victoire n’existe pas dans une guerre aussi longue parce que tout le monde a souffert.

-Andréa Jackson

 

In the town of Ypres at the most beautiful cathedral, yesterday the sounds of the song “silent night” rang out in the In Flanders Fields Museum. This was what the soldiers of the Western Front would have heard during the Christmas Truce of 1914. It moved me so much that even the most steadfast of enemies could find the humanity that one special night where there was peace in the midst of war. Today was the first time I saw something lighthearted and kind in the face of these conflicts.  

After visiting the Christmas Truce Memorial in the fields of Ypres, my mind turned to how the soldiers of both sides must have been exhausted after months of fighting. The monument filled with soccer balls alluding to the famous game of soccer played in no man’s land gave me a sense of joy in a place where almost all memories are negative. The truth is, war was destructive and horrific, but it gives me hope to think that on that one single day on the 25th of December 1914, there was peace on the Western Front. 

-Jack Roy

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Today, our 2019 BVP recipients visited Langemark German Cemetery and John McCrae’s Dressing station where Lily and Alliya read John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields. Later, the students went to Ypres to visit the In Flanders Fields Museum, located in the Cloth Hall.  (Please note: students will blog in their language of preference). 

 

Today was our first official day exploring the many fascinating and stimulating monuments, areas and cemeteries of the Beaverook Vimy Prize program. I was most moved by the very beginning of the day visiting our first Commonwealth grave and famous Canadian poet John McCrae’s dressing station. Starting off at Essex Farm cemetery instantly opened my eyes to new perspectives and challenged my own, as I discovered an almost subconscious bias of mine: one of the chaperones pointed out two headstones right beside each other in one row and asked us why this was the case, and I immediately envisioned a patriotic image of two best friends dying together so being buried together. Learning that they were likely buried together due to being indistinguishable from each other due to horrific wounds, really made me start to rethink any glorified preconceptions of the First World War I may hold. At John McCrae’s dressing station by the spot McCrae wrote the iconic poem In Flanders Fields I was absolutely honoured to read his famous work to the group, which made me feel so connected to its material and thrilled to be standing where the poppy emblem of the war essentially originated from.

I was also so lucky to conduct a tribute to a soldier I had selected at the very spot where his name was engraved – something I never thought I would have the chance to do. We reached the expansive Menin Gate where I spoke about a soldier whose name was written there, Cecil Hubert Cray Cattel – I presented my project including inferring his personality characteristics from letters he wrote that I had studied – this was an incredible moment, allowing me to truly feel a personal connection to a name likely lost in history. I look forward to tomorrow and challenging my ideas and assumptions about the World Wars even further.

-Lily Maguire

 

Aujourd’hui, nous avons visité deux cimetières : la Ferme d’Essex – cimetière du Commonwealth britannique – ainsi que le Langemark Cemetary – cimetière allemand -. C’était la première fois que j’entrais dans un cimetière militaire. Tous ces noms, gravés sur les tombes, m’ont fait prendre conscience du nombre de morts engendré par la Première Guerre mondiale. Il y a une grande différence entre un nombre et un visuel concret. Ces quelques cimetières ne représentent cependant qu’une fraction de l’horreur de la Grande Guerre. Tout au long des visites, je me suis sentie très concernée par la mobilisation de tous ces soldats. Nous ne pouvons, en effet, rester insensible au sacrifice de toute une génération.

Le cimetière du Commonwealth britannique montrait un style à l’antipode de celui du cimetière allemand. Si la Ferme d’Essex avançait une vision de clarté neutre, le Langemark Cemetery évoquait une image plus sombre et impersonnelle. En effet, la lumière filtrait à peine entre les branches et les feuilles des arbres, les murs étaient noirs, de même que les tombes, complètement à l’inverse pour la Ferme d’Essex.

Durant cette journée, j’ai notamment appris qu’à partir de quarante tombes, la croix du sacrifice était érigée alors que lorsque ce nombre dépassait le millier, on faisait installer la pierre du souvenir. Aussi, j’ai pu éclaircir les origines du poème In Flanders Fields.

-Florence Trigaux

 

Though I have been highly anticipating this program ever since my acceptance, I do not think there is any way to truly comprehend the emotions you experience upon stepping onto a cemetery. Today, during the first day of activities, we visited both a Commonwealth and a German cemetery. The contrast between the two was astounding to me – the Commonwealth cemetery was more celebratory and patriotic whereas the German cemetery was much more ominous and more impersonal. I was quite literally speechless, as in a space no larger than my backyard, there was a mass grave with more than 25,000 German soldiers buried on top of one another. I truly do not think there is a word to describe seeing this in person. Each one of these people had a life, a family, and a story which was cut short … and their only commemoration is a small engravement of their name on a stone.

Later in the day, I had the opportunity to present a project which I had prepared prior to the program. My soldier, private Thomas Hannabury, is commemorated at Menin Gate as his place of burial was destroyed in battle during the First World War. It makes me very proud to carry the legacy of my soldier, as aside from his immediate family I could very well be one of few people to know of his life and incredibly selfless sacrifices he made for his nation. As he was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland, it was an absolute honour to pay my respects to someone from my province who gave their life so that I can live mine in liberty. Despite it being only the first proper day, I already feel as though I have gained an entirely new perspective on history and I cannot wait to see where else the program leads and how else it shapes my knowledge and personal viewpoints.

–Evan Di Cesare

 

 

 

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Our BVP 2019 recipients made it safely to Brussels, and they continued on to Ypres. After settling in, the students were introduced to the program and participated in some ice-breaker activities. Read more about what they are most looking forward to during the program. (Please note: participants will blog in their language of preference.)  

 

J’ai particulièrement hâte d’entendre des témoignages et des conférences d’experts, nous sommes choyés d’y avoir accès, car ils nous donnent une perspective très personnelle sur les conflits.

-Andelina Habel-Thurton

 

I am most excited to visit the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, due partly to its symbolic and historical significance, as well as because it is where the soldier I have been researching over the past few months is commemorated. I am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to participate in the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize, and I am looking forwards to the journey ahead!

-Rose He

 

I am particularly excited to see the Vimy Memorial after all the stories I have heard from people about the emotional impact it had on them. I am also looking forward to seeing the Ring of Remembrance for its architecture. 

-Nimra Hooda

 

I am most excited to visit the grave of my great grand uncle at Tyne Cot Memorial. I think it will be an amazing experience to be able to stand by his grave and to tell his story.

-Maya Burgess

 

During this program I am most looking forward to visiting Second World War sites, especially the Juno Centre and Juno Beach due to my decade-long interest in the Second World War, and to visit a plaque dedicated to my jazz band at the Juno Beach.

-Philipp R.W Darley

 

J’ai très hâte de voir le Château de Versailles. Être à l’endroit où ils ont déclaré la fin d’une des guerres les plus sanglantes de l’histoire mondiale, et où la paix a été déclarée sera une expérience très marquante pour moi.

-Andréa Jackson

 

I am looking forward to the Dieppe candlelight ceremony because I find an immersive experience is so effective in commemorating tragically lost lives in a way that remembers the beauty of their lives and humanity.

-Lily Maguire

 

I’m ecstatic to have the chance to visit the infamous beaches of Normandy. Experiencing where those soldiers walked will be so moving.

-Jack Roy

 

Je suis très excitée à l’idée de visiter tous les musées, monuments et cimetières prévus lors du PVB. L’Anneau de la Mémoire m’intéresse particulièrement pour sa signification. En effet, à travers ce monument commémoratif circulaire se cache un puissant message unificateur.

-Florence Trigaux

 

I am the most excited to get to see Vimy Ridge because of it’s cultural significance to Canada.

-Noah Korver

 

Though I am incredibly excited for every aspect of the program, what I am most looking forward is to visit Beaumont Hamel so that I can gain a new sense of respect for the history of my province.

-Evan Di Cesare

 

I am most excited to have the opportunity to commemorate my chosen soldier, as it is very important to the family. I feel honoured.

– Meaghan Bulger

 

I am excited to visit the Versailles palace because of the history and architecture portrayed by the palace.

-Nathan Yee

 

I am most looking forward to Versailles, for it is said to be gorgeous, and the Courcelette Memorial, because that is the battle in which the soldier I researched died. I feel it will be very moving to stand where someone my age died just over one hundred years ago.

-Sophie Long

 

Je suis impatient de créer des liens forts et durables avec tous les autres lauréats du programme tout en participant à une expérience unique relative à l’histoire.

-Isaac St-Jean

 

Visiter le centre Juno Beach et les champs de bataille m’enchante tout particulièrement car je pense que la visite de celui-ci me permettra d’en apprendre plus sur le rôle et l’histoire du Canada lors de la Seconde Guerre mondiale et les champs de bataille font ressentir de réelles émotions qui, même après une centaine d’années, rendent compte de la gravité de la guerre.

-Alliya Arifa

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Today students selected from across Canada have embarked on the Vimy Foundation’s Beaverbrook Vimy Prize! Follow our 2017 Beaverbrook Vimy Prize recipients as they blog about their First and Second World War history education experience! (Please note: participants will blog in their mother tongue.)  Today’s first blogs come from our four chaperones.

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Today is our departure day for the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize and we are so excited to begin the program with our outstanding scholars from across Canada, England and France. The students have done much personal preparation through reading, study and researching and in connecting with a soldier from their hometown who they are going to commemorate at their resting place. We are excited to engage them in discussions and activities to make sense of their experiences and will work together to document what they have learned in order to share with their families, classmates and communities upon their return home. The 2017 BVP program will indeed be a life-changing experience. We look forward to sharing the stories of our journey with you!

-Katy Whitfield, 2017 BVP Education Coordinator & Chaperone

 

I am delighted to be embarking upon another Beaverbrook Vimy Prize program and so excited to meet this year’s incredible students. As the UK Coordinator for the program, part of my job involves arriving early to make sure everything is in order, so I am already in Harrow; I look forward to welcoming the rest of the group here tomorrow morning! Our philosophy on the BVP is that it is teaching students how to think critically about war and remembrance that is most important, and they are about to have a very full two weeks of challenging and engaging learning.

-Hanna Smyth, 2017 BVP Coordinator for the UK & Chaperone

 

As a first-time chaperone in the BVP program, I’m so excited to meet all of our scholars, who are already such accomplished young people. I’m looking forward to learning from you and with you about the histories of the men and women from our communities who served in the First and Second World Wars as we visit many sites of personal and national significance to all of us. Let the learning adventure begin!

-Rachel Collishaw, 2017 BVP Chaperone

 

This is a full-circle moment for me: I was a participant on the 2009 BVP and it is a joy to be a chaperone this year. The students have worked hard to prepare for the program and I am thrilled to be accompanying them and to learn from them. The chaperone team, which I am honoured to be a part of, has also worked hard preparing an educational program to challenge, inspire, and educate the BVP participants. Each day, two or three of the participants will use this space to share with you what they’ve seen, learned, and felt throughout the program. We look forward to sharing the journey with you.

-Thomas Littlewood, 2017 BVP Chaperone

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Our final day in Paris before we all parted ways was amazing! We some fascinating areas of Paris, both on the Bateau Mouche, boat tour along the Seine River, as well as the First World War gallery at Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides, and Sacre Coeur and surroundings in Montmartre.

These past two weeks have been unbelievable! I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to travel to Europe and to learn about the First and Second World Wars with 19 fascinating people (BVP scholars and chaperone-facilitators).

One hundred years ago, Canadian soldiers were dying on the battlefields across Belgium and France. Because of the 2016 BVP program, I have learned many things that I never could have learned otherwise and through a first-hand experience.

Watching the sun go down at the Vimy Memorial in France and feeling the waves crash against my legs at Juno Beach has made me so thankful for those brave souls who sacrificed so much in the name of our country. These experiences have made me proud of my heritage; I am so proud to be Canadian.

I honestly do not have the words to say what I am feeling at the moment, so I will end this blog post with a heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this experience possible and the words, “we will remember them.”

 – Emily Oakes, Gueph, Ontario

 

Now that I have been distanced by a few hours and a few thousand kilometres from the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize and my fellow scholars, I can say with certainty something that I expected all along: what happens in BVP doesn’t stay in BVP. It is doubtful that I will have the stamina to have such ferocious and intense passion for remembrance as I had for these two weeks, but that is okay: I simply must be able to ignite it and keep it burning whenever I start to feel far away from all of the brave men and women who fought and gave their lives for my country during the World Wars.

The BVP scholarship is history-focused, without a doubt. But it also has left me and my fellow scholars with a fantastic wealth of knowledge about the world that we live in today as well as inspiration for the future. The program may be over, but BVP isn’t, and therein lies the fundamental reason why BVP is so much more than just an educational trip to Europe.

– Abby Vadeboncoeur, Regina, Saskatchewan

 

 

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After visiting and learning in three incredible countries, our program came to a close in the beautiful city of Paris. I come from the smallest province of Canada, Prince Edward Island, so it was almost surreal to be in such a large environment.

Our first excursion actually came as a surprise to us from the chaperones. We began a walk through the city, exploring the different landmarks. Finally Katy, our Education Coordinator stopped the group and asked us if we wanted to visit the Eiffel Tower. We replied “yes, of course!” and ended up spending the evening together climbing up to the second level of the Tower, enjoying the sights and lights looking down on beautiful Paris at night! Even though the program only had a day left, it felt as if time had stopped for a few hours so we could be together longer.

Our next stop was at the Musee de l’Armee where we were able to see a First World War and Second World War exhibit. Having seen different museums along the trip it was so interesting to see how the French remembered the war and how they wanted to present their history. In the Second World War exhibit there was a hallway that focused on deportation. It showed those people that had been sent to concentration camps and gave us a glimpse through photos and stories into what their life was like. I found this extremely sad and was moved by the tragedies they endured yet their perseverance through it all.

Finally,  I want to wrap up my little blog post with an enormous thank you to the coordinators, other participants and most of all the sponsors of the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize. This program taught me more then I could ever learn in a classroom, and instilled in me a strong passion for remembrance. I have visited amazing places, learned incredible things and met friends that will last a lifetime! Thank you so much!

– Hannah Hardy, Albany, Prince Edward Island 

 

It has been yet another lovely day in Paris and I cannot believe it is our last. After an amazing and scenic start to our day, we slowed things down with an evening walk in Montmartre, one of Paris’ distinct and beautiful neighbourhoods. While in Montmartre, we walked around the bustling shops and vendors and tried some classic Parisian sweets like crêpes, macarons, and – although this treat isn’t authentic to the country – I had the most amazing gelato! In the heart of the neighbourhood stood the beautiful Sacré-Cœur Basilica, a picturesque Roman Catholic Church. After walking down a small cobblestone path, my group and I found a balcony overlooking all of Paris and took the opportunity to take some pictures! On this final night, we were treated with a three course dinner that was accompanied with lots of laughs and reminiscing about memories of the program.

When we got back to the MIJE (our residence for the night), some fun activities awaited us! We first participated in an appreciation circle where each person shared a story or a comment which validated the two people sitting on either side of them. This activity lifted everyone’s mood and made us even closer. The night also consisted of a round of message-writing in everyone’s personalized booklet. This was very important as it gave us the opportunity to share a story or to show appreciation for each other for an amazing experience, “in writing” (this was quite emotional both literally and figuratively!) It was an emotional night, no doubt, but it provided us all with some much-needed closure from one of the best two weeks we had ever had.

My BVP blogging career has now come full circle ever since the time I wrote my very first blog on one of the first nights. I’m glad I’ve gotten to record some of our joyful memories and adventures, and tonight was truly a wonderful end to a wonderful trip.

– Haleh Zabihi, St. John’s, Newfoundland

 

Click here for photos from our Beaverbrook Vimy Prize Facebook album

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Every year, I, like many students across Canada, participate in remembrance ceremonies at my school and in my city. In all that time, I have never had a more active role as I did during the three ceremonies we attended in and around the city of Dieppe commemorating the disastrous invasion attempt in 1942. I did not lay a wreath or read the promise of remembrance, but as a representative of the Vimy Foundation, Canada and the younger generations, I knew my presence represented a lot. And the response was overwhelmingly positive. After every ceremony, members of the public and distinguished guests came up to us. They asked about the Foundation and our trip, but they mostly expressed how happy they were to see us, the young, continue to remember those who came before us. We were even seen as important enough not only to stand an honour guard for the fallen the night before but to stand guard for the guests and participants as they entered the salle des Congrès for the reception.

And yet for me, what truly brought home the theme of the continuation of remembrance, was seeing my fellow participants. Listening to Andrew and Roseline read the Commitment to Remember in both official languages in a sea of adult voices. Watching two different participants place their wreaths at every ceremony among veterans and prominent guests. At one ceremony, a dozen children from the area placed flowers at the monuments we had gathered around. On their shoulders rest the responsibility of remembrance and the continuation of tradition. They are the ones who will attend ceremonies like these for years to come. After spending two weeks with some of them, I know we are in good hands.

– Sarah Verrault, London, Ontario

 

Click here for photos from the Dieppe ceremonies in our Beaverbrook Vimy Prize album.

 

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Today was our last day in Normandy. We started the day off by visiting Longues-sur-mer where German bunkers lined the coast. We were able to get face to face with the tanks and guns they used and view the English Channel from which the allies approached the continent. When you compare the cliffs between Omaha and Utah beaches at Longues-sur-mer with the smooth even sands of Juno Beach it is not wonder that the Canadians made the furtherest advances in land on June 6th, 1944. The Allies and the Germans were fighting on more even  ground at Juno but looking out from the bunkers at Longues-sur-mer the challenge was evident for the Allies. The landscape allowed the Germans to hide well and wait patiently for the upcoming attack.

We then travelled to the Normandy American Cemetery and memorial at Omaha Beach. It was interesting to see the difference in an American cemetery compared with the other Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries we have seen throughout the program. We then travelled to Pointe-du-Hoc to see the monument erected by the French for the American Ranger commanders who scaled 110 ft cliffs to liberate the area. Shell craters dotted the landscape like the craters of the First World War we sat at Hill 60 and the Caterpillar on the Ypres Salient.

Upon our arrival in Dieppe we commemorated a soldier at the Canadian cemetery and this evening attended a special vigil on the eve of the 74th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid in 1942. Participating in this vigil was very special for everyone. We were given the honour of being part of a special honour guard. I was taken aback by how well Canadians were being honoured tonight through the waving of flags and how welcomed we felt as honoured guests. I think that the attendees were proud to see youth partake in our shared history.

– Jane Harkness, Virden, MB

 

Click here to view photos from the 2016 Beaverbrook Vimy Prize program.

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Similar to my experience at Vimy Ridge, Juno Beach was a unique and humbling experience. Building off of the success of the First World War, Canada was given increasingly important responsibilities climaxing with the contributions of Canadians in the landings on Juno Beach. It was truly humbling to walk along the sand that Canada had been trusted by the world to take; the sand that hundreds of Canadians had fallen on. Yet walking across the sand was strangely peaceful.

Meeting the locals and taking in the beauty of the area, it was to believe that a major battle was once fought here. The trenches, bunkers, beaches, mulberries in the harbour, all made for a sobering and meaningful experience.

– Adam Labrash, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

 

A moment that stood out to me today was visiting the Abbaye D’Ardennes. Hearing the tragic story about what happened there (the interrogation and execution of Canadian POWs) was shocking and emotional for everyone. What really made me think was the garden that now stand in the place where the executions happened. I found it really difficult to reconcile the current beauty of the place with its horrific past.

Another interesting moment was visiting the Beny-sur-mer cemetery because we were able to see how the epitaphs for the First and Second World Wars are different. What I found very interesting was how so many of the Second World War epitaphs were more personal, with fewer religious references, and often stated who had chosen the epitaph. This made me think about who headstones are really for. The deceased, or those they left behind. I also wondered about why the shift towards personal, familial epitaphs occurred. I’ve enjoyed this program so much and I am dreading the fact that it is coming to an end.

– Sabrina Ashgar, Northwood, Middlesex, UK

 

Please click here to view photos from the Beaverbrook Vimy Prize program 2016.

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