Canadian Battlefield Memorials Restoration Project
Encyclopedia
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's thirteen World War I memorials were erected to honour and remember the achievements and sacrifices of Canadians
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
ers during the Great War. In May 2001, the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
announced a major $30-million restoration project to restore and rehabilitate Canada's memorial sites in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, in order to maintain and present them in a respectful and dignified manner.
Eight of these memorials stand on notable Canadian battlefields in France and Belgium:
- Vimy Ridge MemorialCanadian National Vimy MemorialThe Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a memorial site in France dedicated to the memory of Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War. It also serves as the place of commemoration for First World War Canadian soldiers killed or presumed dead in France who have no known...
- Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page - Bourlon Wood MemorialBourlon Wood MemorialThe Bourlon Wood Memorial is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps during the final months of the First World War; a period also known as Canada's Hundred Days, part of the Hundred Days Offensive...
- Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page - Courcelette MemorialCourcelette MemorialThe Courcelette Memorial is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in the final two and a half months of the infamous four and a half month long Somme Offensive of the First World War...
- Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page - Dury MemorialDury MemorialThe Dury Memorial is a World War I Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in the Second Battle of Arras, particularly the their breakthrough at the Drocourt-Quéant Line switch of the Hindenburg Line just south of the town of Dury. The Drocourt-Quéant Line was a...
- Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page - Hill 62 MemorialHill 62 MemorialThe Canadian Hill 62 Memorial is a war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in defending the southern stretches of the Ypres Salient between April and August 1916 including actions in battle at the St. Eloi Craters, Hill 62, Mount Sorrel and Sanctuary Wood...
- Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page - Le Quesnel MemorialLe Quesnel MemorialThe Le Quesnel Memorial is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps during the 1918 Battle of Amiens during World War I...
- Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page - Passchendaele MemorialPasschendaele MemorialThe Passchendaele Memorial is a Canadian war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Canadian Corps in the Second Battle of Passchendaele of World War I...
- Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page - Saint Julien MemorialSaint Julien MemorialThe St. Julien Memorial is a Canadian war memorial and small commemorative park located in the village of Saint Julien , Belgium. The memorial commemorates the Canadian First Division's participation in the Second Battle of Ypres of World War I which included the defence against the first poison...
- Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page
Five other memorials mark places of historical significance to the then Dominion of Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
:
- Beaumont-HamelBeaumont-Hamel Newfoundland MemorialThe Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial is a memorial site in France dedicated to the commemoration of Dominion of Newfoundland forces members who were killed during World War I. The preserved battlefield park encompasses the grounds over which the Newfoundland Regiment made their unsuccessful...
- Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page - Gueudecourt (Newfoundland) MemorialGueudecourt (Newfoundland) MemorialThe Gueudecourt Memorial is a Dominion of Newfoundland war memorial that commemorates the actions of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during the Battle of Le Transloy of World War I. Located about one kilometre northeast of Gueudecourt village, the memorial marks the spot where in October 1916, the...
- Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page - Monchy-le-PreuxMonchy-le-PreuxMonchy-le-Preux is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Monchy-le-Preux is situated southeast of Arras, at the junction of the D33 and the D339 roads...
- Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page - Masnières - Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page
- CourtraiKortrijkKortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...
- Canadian Veterans' Affairs web page
Collectively, they are symbolic of the Canadians and Newfoundlanders who gave their lives during the First World War, and are physical reminders that their sacrifices and victories must never be forgotten.
The repair work required to rehabilitate these memorial sites, now an average of 75 years old, is beyond the scope of routine maintenance. The program of work is being carried out in collaboration with Public Works and Government Services Canada
Public Works and Government Services Canada
Public Works and Government Services Canada is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for the government's internal servicing and administration....
, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
and other specialists, consultants and military historians. The work is separated into four project areas, with the restoration of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial
Canadian National Vimy Memorial
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a memorial site in France dedicated to the memory of Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War. It also serves as the place of commemoration for First World War Canadian soldiers killed or presumed dead in France who have no known...
being the main priority.