GETCA 2020

2017 marked the 100th anniversary of Canada's critical victory at Vimy Ridge in Northern France. While the events of those days have received justifiable attention, the importance of Vimy Ridge to Canada goes beyond those weeks in early April 1917. This presentation will look at the importance of Vimy in preserving the Canadian military in early 1918. France's decision to offer Canada title for monuments in France and the decision to choose Vimy as the site of Canada's national monument and the difficult process of constructing the monument. It's later role in healing for many of the families and veterans affected by World War 1, and ultimately its importance to people of all nations as one of the Western Front's most visited historic sites because of a 1920s make work project which has today left us with one of the best preserved examples of life on the Western Front.