StraitTalk - November 2019

The Last Post at the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres
A Personal Journey
By Captain Alan Keeping & Michelle Rendell
Last month, we had the opportunity to visit
France to see some of the memorials and sites
that honour events that happened there over
100 years ago during the First and Second
World Wars. The effect that visit had on me
still resonates. I believe it will resonate with
me for the rest of my life. It’s difficult to put
into words both the beauty and profound
impact these sites have.
We first travelled to Beaumont Hamel and
found ourselves winding through tiny towns
and what became prevalent was the signs
leading to numerous cemeteries. Once we
arrived, we had a guided tour of Beaumont
Hamel. Right next to the main road what
looks like a ditch, is actually a trench, known
as St. John’s Road. This was where the Blue
Puttees, forming part of the 29th British
Division, attacked from at 9:15 a.m. on
July 1, 1916. They pushed their way to the
clogged front line through the dead and
wounded soldiers that had begun the initial
advance. Once they made it to No Man's
Land, they were then expected to cross
through tangles of barbed wire to reach the
enemy trenches nearby. Tragically, most fell
at a tree known as the Danger Tree. A replica
of which is erected there.
The Newfoundland Regiment would be
practically decimated in less than half an
hour of intense German fire. Of some 800
Newfoundlanders who went into battle that
morning, only 68 were able to answer the
roll call the next day. Our Day at Beaumont
Hamel ended at the Caribou Memorial which
points in the direction of Newfoundland, on
it is inscribed the names of those with no
known graves.
The next day, we set off for Vimy Ridge. Once
the Monument comes into view, the sheer
size is monumental, but it’s not until you
walk up next to it that you begin to see the
beauty of the monument. It commemorates
more than 11,000 men of the Canadian
Expeditionary Force killed during the First
World War in France and who have no known
grave. Many of them died in the Battle of
Vimy Ridge. The Canadians moved to the
front lines across from Vimy Ridge in the late
autumn of 1916. The Battle of Vimy Ridge
would be the first time all four divisions
of the Canadian Corps fought together as
one formation. The Battle of Vimy Ridge
began at 5:30 a.m. on Easter Monday, April
9, 1917. The first wave of 15,000-20,000
Canadian soldiers suffered great numbers
of casualties, but the assault proceeded
on schedule. Most of the heavily defended
ridge was captured by noon. Two days later
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STRAIT TALK // NOVEMBER 2019