The Vimy Memorial is the most prestigious Canadian monument in Europe. It is located on the very site of the 1917 fighting near Vimy in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. Erected on the highest point of the hill, Hill 145, the objective of the operations that began on April 9, 1917, it overlooks the Douai Plain.
In 1921, architect and sculptor Walter S. Allward (1875-1955) won the competition from the Canadian Battlefield Memorials Commission. The significance of the battles at the site and the favorable location at the top of the hill allowed Vimy to receive the most prestigious work.
The monument's architecture consists of twenty figures and a massive base topped by two immense pillars. Carved from a single 30-ton block, the main statue, symbolizing the spirit of Canada mourning its fallen, dominates the Douai Plain.
At the top, the angels of Justice and Peace stand guard over the gate. At the front of the monument, between the pillars, two statues represent the spirit of sacrifice, one representing the spirit of sacrifice, and the other representing the passing of the torch.
The 27-meter-high pylons symbolize both the gates of eternity, as well as France, with the fleur-de-lis, and Canada, with the maple leaves. They are also adorned with representations of Truth, Knowledge, Valor, Sympathy, and the coats of arms of Canada, England, and France.
On either side of the façade wall, cannons adorned with laurel and olive branches, symbolizing Victory and Peace, can be seen. Below, figures represent the Breaking of the Saber and Sympathy for the Victims. Each of the monument's statues embodies an ideal: Justice, Peace, Honor, Faith, Charity, Truth, Knowledge, Hope...
The following words are engraved on its base:
"TO THE VALOR OF HER SONS DURING THE GREAT WAR, AND IN MEMORY OF HER SIXTY THOUSAND DEAD, THE CANADIAN PEOPLE HAVE ERECTED THIS MONUMENT."
The names of 11,285 missing persons are also etched in stone for eternity. This list complements those on the monument erected in memory of the Armies of the British Empire at the Menin Gate, Ypres. Indeed, 18,283 Canadian soldiers were never found...
Construction work began in 1925.
The memorial was inaugurated on July 26, 1932, in the presence of King Edward VII and Albert Lebrun, President of the French Republic.
Translated by Google •
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