Teens disrespectful at Vimy memorial

My husband and I were at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial six days after this ceremony.

We were there to honour my grandfather, Leslie G. Simpson, his brother, Stanley Simpson and my other great-uncle, Charles Elliott Sutcliffe, who had all fought for Canada in the First World War. My grandfather survived — barely — while his brother, my great-uncle Stanley, never recovered from the horrors of this war and died around 1920 in Toronto.

My other great-uncle, Charles, was a Canadian pilot with the Royal Flying Corps in Great Britain. He was shot down in Epinoy, near Vimy, on June 6, 1917; he survived the crash but was murdered by the Germans instead of being taken a prisoner of war. They were all so young.

During our visit, we noticed some teenage girls on top of the wall, next to the Mourning Woman, taking photographs, selfies and joking about falling off. I found this extremely disrespectful and was upset and angry, as this is sacred ground for all Canadians. I spoke with the girls and they apologized. Another lady nearby gave me the thumbs up.

I then found their teachers near the parking lot, and had words with them. I was extremely disappointed when I learned they were from an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board high school. I suggested that the staff speak with the students on the bus about how special this place was and how they should be very careful about their behaviour. Cynthia Sutcliffe, Ottawa