During the annual pilgrimage to Memorial/Burial Sites in France, Belgium and Holland last October, I had the opportunity and privilege of representing the Nursing Sisters Association of Canada.

Veterans Affairs Canada organizes these visits to the Great War battlefields each year to commemorate the anniversary of a significant event or battle. On this occasion, the date chosen was October 31, 2001 at the Menin Gate in Ypres where the Last Post was played for the 25,000^th time.

The Germans were finally halted in 1918 less than two miles from this structure, which dates from the seventeenth century. The Memorial Arch was erected by the Imperial, now Allied War Graves Commission. It consists of a Hall of Memory with broad staircases leading to the ramparts. Inscribed within are the names of the dead by regiment and corps. Almost 55,000 British Commonwealth soldiers, including 6,930 Canadians without a known grave, are inscribed.

The dead are remembered in a simple daily ceremony at sunset when all Menin Gate traffic is halted. Two silver trumpets used at the ceremony were a gift from a Royal Canadian Artillery officer who served in Ypres in 1915 with the 10^th Battery of St. Catharines, Ont.

On the night of October 31, representatives from around the world gathered at the Gate with the Duke of Edinburgh and members of the Belgian Royal Family. (An Australian military unit traveled for 20 hours to attend this ceremony.)

The mournful tone of the Last Post filled the Arch area followed by the Lament, piped by a sergeant of the Nova Scotia Highlanders. As the poppies floated down from above, a quiet stillness pervaded the night.

After the ceremony, a service was held at St. Georges Church. It was built originally as a place of worship for the English families whose men were constructing the cemeteries and memorials after the Great War. Its door still remains open every day of the year.

The other sites visited during this pilgrimage are here described.

St. Julien Memorial. On the main road from Ypres to Bruges, stands the 11-metre high St. Julien Memorial surmounted by "The Brooding Soldier" standing as a sentinel. The inscription recalls the Canadian participation in the 2^nd Battle of Ypres and reads:

THIS COLUMN MARKS THE BATTLEFIELD
WHERE 18,000 CANADIANS ON THE BRITISH
LEFT WITHSTOOD THE GERMAN GAS
ATTACKS THE 22^ND – 24^TH APRIL 1915
2,000 FELL DEAD HERE LIE BURIED

It marks the German introduction of chlorine gas warfare on April 22^nd and a second attack 48 hours later.

Beaumont Hamel. A great bronze caribou emblem of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment stands on the highest point of the Battlefield Park in memory of the Newfoundlanders who fell at Beaumont Hamel. This was their first action in France on July 1, 1916 at the Battle of the Somme. No unit suffered heavier casualties than this unit. Of the 801 in number, only 68 answered their names when the roll call was taken after the battle.

The Beaumont Hamel Visitors’ Centre was officially opened in 2000 and its historic park is open to the public daily using university students as guides. The Remembrance ceremony included military members from Britain and France and French officials.

I had the honour of reading the Act of Remembrance and laying a wreath on behalf of the Nursing Sisters.

Passchendaele. The 85^th Battalion, Nova Scotia Highlanders engaged the Germans in fierce battle the morning of October 30, 1917. The fire of the machine guns was so intense that anyone standing was cut down. The trenches at Passchendaele were below sea level and half full of water. To slip or fall could mean death.

In l919 a memorial was erected on this site. On October 31, 2002, 40 members of this regiment were present to unveil and rededicate a new monument. The granite (6 tons) came from a quarry in the Annapolis Valley. The pride of the young reservists was apparent at this ceremony.

Crest Farm. A large block of Canadian granite set in a grove of maple trees and encircled with a low hedge of holly marks the Crest Farm. Here Canadians encountered some of the fiercest resistance that they were to meet during the war. Today as you stand in the grounds of the Memorial and look down the long avenue of trees, the rebuilt spires of Ypres are visible. The Canadian Corps advanced across this valley in October/November 1917 to capture and hold the Passchendaele Ridge. It was a "Canadian Calvary." The award of nine Victoria Crosses bears testimony to the skill, bravery and determination of the Canadian Corps.

Hill 62 (Sanctuary Wood) Memorial. Made of white Quebec granite, this memorial is a tribute to the achievements of Canadian soldiers who, over a five-month period, tried to keep the last few square kilometers of Belgian territory in allied hands. On June 2^nd, the 3^rd Division experienced its most devastating encounters with a whole section of their trenches being obliterated. The 1^st Canadian Division attacked on June 13 in the darkness, wind and rain, retaking the heights lost on June 2. The cost was 8,430 casualties.

Vimy Ridge. The monument at Vimy Ridge is the most impressive tribute to Canadians who gave their lives in the Great War. It overlooks a vat plain about eight kilometers from Arras. At Daybreak on April 9, 1917 all four divisions of the Canadian Corps fighting together for the first time, stormed the Ridge. Preceded by a perfectly timed artillery barrage, by mid-afternoon the Canadians had taken the Ridge except Hill 145. Vimy Ridge was the turning point for the Allies.

The remembrance ceremony on November 4^th was at the base of the giant monument. In laying the many wreaths, students accompanied each representative. Climbing the stone steps to our designated spot, I was accompanied by the daughter of an Air Force officer stationed in Europe.

Built into the side of a hill at the highest point of the Ridge, the giant monument bears 20 sculptured figures. The outside walls bear the names of 11,285 Canadians killed in France whose final resting place is unknown.

The visitors’ centre at Vimy gives graphic accounts of the battles and students give guided tours and answer questions.

Bergen-on-Zoom. At this military cemetery, the remains of two soldiers of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, Niagara Falls were interred. Killed on the morning of Jan 26, 1945, their remains were found by a local farmer in February 2000. Full military honours were accorded and each was borne by members of their regiment. Next-of-kin were in attendance as were many Dutch citizens.

A military historian accompanied the delegation to provide a historical overview at each of the memorial locations. Carmen Provenzano, parliamentary secretary to the Veterans’ Affairs Minister, led the delegation.

The beautifully maintained graves in their park-like settings, marked by the crosses row on row, and the pristine white monuments conveyed to me a sense of peace, order and serenity. I feel honoured to have had the opportunity to be part of this delegation. The experience will remain long in my memory.

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