My Vimy Experience

On the morning of April 12, 2017, I awoke in my hotel room in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, France. For the six days previous, I had been experiencing the trip of a lifetime: Vimy 100! Before the 12th, I had already explored the streets of Amsterdam, including the infamous Anne Frank House, the alluring Oude Koornmarkt market in Antwerp, the haunting Flanders Field and the historic Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland memorial in France. Throughout these days, I had seen history live and in colour, although nothing could have prepared me for Vimy.

At 9 a.m. on April 12, all 42 Sherwood students made their way on to the bus and set off for Givenchy-en-Gohelle, the small township containing Vimy Ridge. As we took the hour-long bus ride through the town, I stared at the aged brick houses we passed. With each passing house came passing thoughts of war, destruction and peace. I pondered what the citizens of this hamlet would have thought of during the war? Although the battle of Vimy Ridge only lasted four days, I can imagine how the days were an eternity to those who feared the loss of their homes and families.

Shortly after 10 a.m., we switched to a city bus located just outside of Vimy Ridge. This bus would take us through the final stretch of our drive. As we began to draw closer to Vimy, I imagined what the soldiers would have been doing 100 years ago at that moment. Did they understand they were making history? Little did they know their historic capture of the ridge would lead to a moral symbol of the unification of Canada.