Anzac Day in France.

[English Bloke]

The next day was checkout day and we were booked to stay in Armentiers near the French / Belgian border. On the way up we decided to stop at The Canadian National Memorial at Vimy Ridge and the Cobbers statue at Fromelles.


The memorial at Vimy is stunning. It is built in Vimy Park, extensive areas of which are still fenced off due to the risk from unexploded munitions. The park is planted with indigenous Canadian trees. Each tree represents a lost Canadian life... there are a lot of trees.




The twin pylons of the memorial represent the bond in arms between France and Canada. Also visable are the statues of Peace, Justice, Truth and Knowledge at the top of the pylons.


One of the "Mourning Parents", the male.


What it means...


The names of the missing are inscribed around it's walls. These were originally going to be placed on pavement stones around the memorial but Canadian public outcry at the prospect of the names being walked on, forced the sculptor and architect Walter Seymore Allward to place them on the walls. He used a typeface designed specifically for the monument.


Mother Canada mourning her dead.