Drake's take on Vancouver Crossroads

We went to a tower. It was no ordinary tower. It is the Brooding Soldier and it's there to commentate the first gas attack on Canadians. It represents 2000 Canadian soldiers that died in this battle.

The Brooding Soldier is a design that came second in the competition for the Vimy Ridge Memorial. I really like how it starts as a slab of stone and then changes into a soldier on the top. On the base of the monument there are directions to the other battles/monuments from the war.










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9 Elms Cemetery - Grayson's Post

We've just left Nine Elms Cemetery in Poperinge, Belgium. It was extremely moving being able to see my Great, Great Uncle Charlie McDonald's grave. Seeing my class mates pay their respects to my relative, I found it quite hard not to shed a tear or two. I'm so fortunate to have such an amazing piece of heritage and to have been given the opportunity to have visited my Uncle's grave. He was only 18 years of age when he died, one year older than I am now. How could I not be humbled by such an incredible sacrifice, and at such a young age. Thank you to all my teachers and fellow students who gave me this amazing opportunity and for paying their respects. I will remember this moment for the rest of my life.















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Where Flanders Fields was written - Lucas' update

Today we travelled to the grave site called Essex Farm Grave Site. This was the grave site where John McCrae was a field doctor. This was the grave site where he was inspired to write Flanders Fields. He was I spired to write this because of the number of men who were buried there. This grave site holds many soldiers from the war but also holds a fifteen year old soldier who fought and died in the war. And when you think about it, fifteen is a young age to be serving your country. I hope they all rest in peace. Lucas



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Dan Driscoll's poem

Remember the Lost Generation

Lost to their fathers
Lost to their mothers
Lost to their sisters
Lost to their brothers

An entire generation
Lost to us forever
Men and boys gone
But forgotten, never

We will always remember
The deeds of the brave
Who sacrificed themselves
For their families to save

Some were in it for glory
A noble goal none the less
For king and for country
Putting their skill to the test

Some consider the Ridge
To be a great victory
But to the families of the lost
That is not what they see

Many saw Vimy Ridge
As a virtually impeneterable wall
An almost hopeless venture
It was sure to never fall

Then came the Canadians
Cementing their place in time
Always to be remembered
In ballads, songs and rhyme

We Remember the deeds
Of these Candian men, so brave
A generation lost, perhaps
But whose memory we will save.

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Drewe's Tyne Cot Update

We visited Tyne Cot cemetery in Belgium today. It is one of the largest British War cemetery with around 11 000 buried soldiers. It has amazing architecture - there is a wall around the back to commemorate all the missing soldiers as well as a large Sword of Sacrifice in the center. The cemetery is very well kept with lovely flowers for the brave soldiers who fought in these wars. When in places like this I feel the soldiers bravery and fear they must have had while fighting in these places. I am in awe of all the people who fought for peace and freedom.




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Charlotte Jones' Dinner

Tonight we are having dinner at restaurant at the hotel. Like every other dinner on this trip, tonight's dinner consists of three courses. The appetizer tonight is a small fresh salad and a crepe that had ham, cheese and a mysterious sauce. It was very well done and scrumptious. My palate approves of this type of food! For the main course there were pork slices and gravy poured over the entire thing. On the side there were potatoes and vegetables! It was another amazing course. Finally we had dessert. We were served a chocolate mousse which was creamy and had nuts that were on top. Overall the meal was sweet and delicious! We are eating very well!




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Vimy Ridge - Steven and Ian

Steven Timlick

With a crash you can hear the sounds of artillery firing ahead of you, the ground shaking, your brothers dying around you, the smell of death permitting the stale air. The rush of adrenalin coming with the beginning of the charge. This is my best imaginings of what it would be like in the hell that was Vimy Ridge, would be like. I could not even comprehend the sheet magnitude of terror that must have come with being in the trenches. This would be one of the most horrible things that could happen. The idea that you are living in up to 3 feet of water with constant noise and horrible smell of dead and dying men. The constant fear of death, being the only thing keeping you going. Even the horrors of the concentration camps could not compare to that of this war. One of the most horrible things that you could possible have done to you, happened to all of these brave soldiers. The uncertainty of whether their families were decimate or if they would ever be reunited with their homes. They lived like this for over 4 years.

Wr must never forget their sacrifices!

Ian

We got to go to the Vimy ridge monument today and we had a great day for it! It was sunny and clear making the massive, stoic and pristine white monument stand out drastically against the naturally green hillside. The monument is beautiful and was very touching to behold; it made me feel very proud to be a Canadian! An interesting fact that I learned about the monument is that the statue of Mother Canada is facing away from the battlefield because the monument designer wanted the statue to face the way the Canadians were advancing after the battle of Vimy Ridge.




















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