Cadets travelling to Vimy Ridge for 100th anniversary
A group of local air cadets will be headed overseas to experience a once in a life time event while celebrating Canada’s military history.
The group will be headed to Vimy Ridge in France for the 100th anniversary of the First World War battle, which the Canadian military played a key role in. Parent volunteer Cheryl Stock will be making the trip with the 15 cadets, and she says everyone is looking forward to their trip.
“We’re all very excited to go,” she said. “Now that we’re under a month before we’re there, everyone is really looking forward to it.”
The trip has been in the works for roughly two years, with everyone going having to fundraise the money for their own trip. Stock says the group did not want anyone to have to miss the trip due to not being able to afford it.
“We wanted it to be equal for everyone, so that’s why everyone ended up fundraising for their trips” she said. “We’ve been very busy — we’ve probably had some sort of fundraising or bottle drive every other month for the past two years, the kids put in a lot of time.”
The group will fly out of Calgary on April 3 and will spend the majority of their days exploring notable battlefield, such as Normandy, Juno Beach and of course Vimy Ridge. The group will also spend time in London and Paris, before heading back to the Hat on April 11. Stock says everyone involved wanted to create an experience the cadets would remember forever.
“This is something they’ll never forget, and we’re never going to see another 100th anniversary, so this trip is gong to be really great for them.”