March 8, 2017
1480
The Kincardine Legion has donated $4,400 toward the Kincardine District Secondary School trip to the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
The presentation was made Tuesday afternoon, by Legion president Mary Farrell, vice-president Jim McDonald and Rev. Jim Weir, chairman of the charity committee.
Kincardine Legion members Rev. Jim Weir (right), vice-president Jim McDonald and president Mary Farrell, present a donation of $4,400 toward the KDSS Vimy 100 trip; accepting, are KDSS vice-principal Suzanne Kennedy (left), Avery Fitzgerald, teacher Jennie Evans, Rylee Evans, and teacher Dan Weigand
The Battle of Vimy Ridge (April 9-12, 1917), during the First World War, was the first time that all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together, says KDSS teacher Dan Weigand. After four days, Canadian troops were successful in taking all of the ridge, located between Lens and Arras, France, from three divisions of the German Sixth Army.
This battle was a decisive win for Canada and its Allies. In this particular four-day battle, Canada paid a heavy price with 3,600 Canadian soldiers dead and 7,000 wounded. In later years, in the clarity provided by hindsight and after most of those who had fought in the battle had died, the Battle of Vimy Ridge became a much-deserved symbol of Canadian national achievement and sacrifice.
From April 5-14, Weigand will be leading 18 KDSS students, touring of sites of significance from the First World War, in France and Belgium. The group will be joined by KDSS teacher Jennie Evans, and Deb Sturdevant, an archivist at the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre who will share her wealth of knowledge of the war and, specifically, those First World War soldiers from Bruce County.
Weigand says the trip participants are each performing research on a soldier from the 160th Bruce Battalion (or earlier groups) or a family member who served in the First World War, with help from the staff at the museum.
"We appreciate the museum staff for their time, enthusiasm and support of this worthwhile project," he says. "We plan to visit sites that have the remains or names of many of the soldiers who have been researched."
The group will be visiting museums, palaces, monuments and cemeteries in Paris, Versailles, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Ypres, Passchendaele, and Brussels, Belgium.
"There might even be time to enjoy some good Belgian chocolate and waffles, in Brussels," adds Weigand who lived in Belgium for several years.
KDSS will be taking part in the 100th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony, Sunday, April 9, at the Vimy Memorial - 100 years-to-the-day from the beginning of the battle. The moment will be celebrated with prime minister Justin Trudeau and members of the British Royal Family.
"This is, truly, a once-in-a-lifetime experience and many thanks go to our principal, Mark. Ozorio, and the Bluewater District School Board and administrators, for encouraging this trip to proceed," says Weigand.
"This is a special trip. We are excited to be travelling to western Europe, but have an appreciation for the sombre overtones. Our goal is to develop a deeper understanding and empathy for the events and sacrifices of the soldiers and support staff in the First World War, and to return to KDSS and share that sense of awe and appreciation with fellow students and teachers.
"The group will also be making presentations at the Kincardine and Ripley Legions upon returning to Ontario.
"Thank you to all who have donated money or offered kind words of support to our travellers. I know that Kincardine, and its surrounding communities, will be well-represented by our mature and thoughtful students. Lest we forget."
"It will be a sobering trip," says Farrell who travelled to The Netherlands with the Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band and the Legion in 2015 to participate in the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of Holland.
The Legion donation will go toward travel expenses and the Vimy 100 T-shirts, purchased by the group.
The Ripley Legion also donated $500 to the Vimy 100 trip which will be used to defray travel expenses.
The Vimy Ridge memorial; photo courtesy of Dan Weigand
Written ByLiz Dadson is the founder and editor of the Kincardine Record and has been in the news business since 1986.
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