Day 3 - Vimy Ridge

Those of you familiar with the Battle of Vimy Ridge will remember that it began on April 9, 1917 in a snowstorm. I had the same conditions, except for the bombs and bullets, when I visited yesterday. My guide was Andre de Bruin, an ex-pat South African now living in Belgium and an expert on the campaigns of WWI. We visited the trenches, tunnels and, of course, the monument where I had it all to myself! I was told to wear red so that people would know I was a Canadian. I did just that but under three more layers because it was -7 with sleet. We next visited the Commonwealth Cemetary at Cabaret Rouge where Andre showed me the grave of the Unknown Soldier whose remains were removed in May 2000 and taken to Ottawa and placed in the National War Memorial. If you look closely at the bottom left of the photo you will see my little memorial composed of Debby's poppy from the CB Highlanders and Ian Trainor's Canadian Flag patch.
We next visited a French Cemetary where 70,000 soldiers are buried! We then walked one of the few preserved WWI battlefields where the closeness of the trenches was amazing - less than 25 yards apart! Later we visited a German Cemetary because Andre wanted to show me headstones of German Jews who had fought for Germany in the war. This was a revelation for me.
Finally we visited a WWII site where members of the French Resistance were executed by the Nazis. It was eerie.
If you want to enjoy a day of war memorials I would highly reccommend Andre. He operates Over the Top Tours, over the top in the sense of going over the top of the trenches and into battle, not in the cukoo for Coco Puffs sense of over the top.

Doc Campbell Moment upon my return to Lille I spotted this building designed by Le Corbusier across from the train station. I can tick another item on my list.