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Vimy to be remembered in Ottawa

Edward Campbell

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This, reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright Act from today’s Ottawa Citizen, maybe something which Army.ca members in the Ottawa area will want to join:

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=2f885bb3-7fb1-4e9f-92b3-29022f3228d6
Vimy ceremony 'etched in light' to honour dead

Downtown streets will go dark for emotional nighttime vigil

Richard Foot, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Thursday, March 29, 2007

The National War Memorial will be the scene of a unique and emotional nighttime vigil starting at sunset on Easter Sunday.

As tens of thousands of Canadians journey to France on the Easter weekend to witness the Queen re-dedicate the restored Vimy Memorial, the federal government is hoping thousands more will gather in downtown Ottawa for a ceremony to mark the 90th anniversary of the Canadian victory in France.

At 7:30 p.m. on April 8, the lights in the area surrounding the National War Memorial will be turned off, and an overnight vigil will be held in honour of the Canadians who fought in the four-day battle that began on Easter Monday, 1917.

The names of the 3,598 Canadians who died at Vimy Ridge will be "etched in light," projected on to the walls of the memorial until sunrise the next morning.

The photographs of at least 80 Vimy veterans who survived the battle, but are now deceased, will also be projected on the memorial's walls.

The public vigil was the idea of Toronto actor R.H. Thomson, who had nine relatives serve in the First World War -- although none at Vimy Ridge -- and who has spent months collecting the names, photographs and diaries of Vimy veterans.

Mr. Thomson had wanted to project the names of all 97,000 Canadians who served at Vimy Ridge on to the giant white memorial in France, as part of the ceremonies there.

The Department of Veterans Affairs suggested the Ottawa location instead, and so Mr. Thomson and the department have spent the past several weeks fine-tuning the logistics of their project and running dress-rehearsals in Ottawa.

They have also persuaded the owners of several surrounding buildings, including the Chateau Laurier hotel, the government conference centre and the National Arts Centre, to turn off the lights in their properties to keep the war memorial as dark as possible for the vigil.

Negotiations are under way with the City of Ottawa to turn off the nearby street lights on Elgin Street and elsewhere. Mr. Thomson says city officials are worried about safety and security issues if all streetlights are shut off overnight.

"We're still trying to stickhandle that with the city," Mr. Thomson says.

He and federal officials are expecting thousands of people to join them at the memorial to honour Canada's Vimy dead, many of whom -- like the remains of the Unknown Soldier at the base of the memorial -- were never identified after the First World War and lie in unmarked graves.

People who can't attend the vigil in Ottawa will be able to watch the event and read the names of Vimy veterans as they are posted on the vigil's website: www.vimy1917.ca .

Vimy: Triumph, Tragedy

To follow the Citizen's special history piece on Vimy Ridge and how the battle changed Canada, go to ottawacitizen.com

© The Ottawa Citizen 2007

Kudos to R.H. Thompson for getting this on the rails.

It’s a shame that city officials must worry that innocent citizens will be unsafe if the lights are turned off – but I agree they must consider public safety and, in this day and age, I fear they may need to err on the sire of caution.

 
Very nice. Lots of people lost their lives there, and now they will forever be remembered.  :salute:  :cdn:
 
It is IMHO better to have the bulk of the ceremony here in Canada, why, so more Canadians can see it.  Funny enough, I am off to Belgium on TD Apr 9.  I plan to go to Vimy when I am there.  Would also like to see Passchandale as I had a relative killed there....
 
I never knew about this, funny that it's not advertised around Ottawa. I will try to get out there, I have been to Vimy and I found it totally amazing. This is an excellent way to honour the soldiers who died for us.
 
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