Vimy France ~ the Canadian Memorial
to the 60 thousand Canadians who lost their lives in the Great World War,
the War to end all wars, World War 1.
Vimy ~ The grass in the area is kept trimmed by the sheep.
The ground still contains explosives from WWI as well as the
remains of hundreds of soldiers who fought, died, and drowned in the mud.
They still lose about one sheep a month due to the
explosives being set off by the weight of the sheep.
Beaumont Memorial - France: to the Newfoundland Regiment.
Over 800 men went into battle -
the following morning only about 78 answered roll call.
The Caribou points directly to St. Johns, Newfoundland.
The Cemetery at Wimereau, France.
John McCrea’s grave is to the immediate left of the Cross of Sacrifice.
The stones lie flat because the soil shifts and they cannot be maintained vertically.
One cemetery near Verdun, France. It illustrates the futility of war.
These stones represent a portion of the 120 thousand graves in this cemetery.
WORLD WAR II
September 1, 1939: WWII began and soon after
Germany walked over Poland, and then into Belgium, Holland and France.
The free world held its breath while the Battle of Britain
was fought and won by men flying the Hurricane on the right and the
Spitfire(wearing D-Day stripes).
Over 100 young Canadian pilots flew in the Battle of Britain and
drove the German Luftwaffe from the skies of Britain.
Later came the Dieppe Raid - August 19, 1942.
The little Town of Puys shown here is where
The Royal Regiment of Toronto was almost obliterated.
The house above shows up in pictures of the raid and still remains.
Note the large bunker to the immediate right,
the machine gun half way up the stairs and the one in front of the house.
Air photo of Dieppe at the time of the raid.
Debris still washes in from the sea in the tide.
The harbour and town have changed little since that time…
...but are much friendlier now!
Dieppe today.
At the time of the raid all the hotels and houses were
full of machine gun positions and only a broad stretch of beach was
left to cross under murderous gunfire.
The remnants of a machine gun position remains at the
brow of the green cliff near the centre of the picture.
Prisoners taken at Dieppe.
Nearly every town in Canada was touched by this raid.
The Canadian with his hat tipped back is a relation of Stuart Johnson.
Taken above Arroanche France.
The artificial harbour towed across from England still
leaves its parts to indicate its position so long ago. (Gold Beach –Brt.)
The Guns at Longues France. Gold Beach.
They still remain but are bowed to the liberating Allies.
Three aircraft flown by Canadians as they carried the war deep into the heart of Germany.
The Lancaster
(Visit our Battle of Britain Memorial Flight site for many photos)
The Halifax
The B-17 Flying Fortress
(This one appeared in the movie, MEMPHIS BELLE.)
