Foothills residents will commemorate a hard fought battle on April 9, the anniversary of the day our nation was born.
Both the Turner Valley and Okotoks Royal Canadian Legions will be having a parade and ceremony for Birth of a Nation day, marking the 98th anniversary of the Vimy Ridge battle in France during the First World War.
“That ridge was so well defended it had resisted attacks over the years by the French and the Brits who had lost ten and tens of thousands of men trying to take it,” said Malcolm Hughes, deputy commander of District 5 and legion chairman. “The Canadians took it with sadly the loss of over 3,000 killed and about 7,000 wounded so 10,000 out of the lot did suffer an injury or death, but that was minimal compared to anything that had ever happened before.”
Hughes explained that the event is meant to recognize the sacrifice that was made on that historical date, but also to take pride in the significant accomplishments that were achieved during the battle.
“There's no question, it's a commemoration because we don't celebrate death… but it’s also a celebration of something that was much bigger than we could have ever imagined at the time,” Hughes said.
He explained that the battle was one that set the Canadian military apart and the first time it had acted independently of Britain.
“It was significant in many ways, first of all it was the first occasion on which the Canadian military had fought as a Canadian army… They're being commanded by Lieutenant-General Byng. His staff put together a plan to take Vimy Ridge which for the first time included briefing the men who would take part,” Hughes said. “The raid was very very successful because of the planning because of preparation and in three days the Canadians took more territory, more prisoners and more captured equipment that led to the opening of the Douai plain.”
At the time, the victory was said to be “the birth of a nation” as Canada from then on was distinguished as a separate military.
The idea to recognize the anniversary of Vimy Ridge as a formal commemorative date began as a local initiative seven years ago when past president of the Turner Valley Legion, Gordon Day, worked with former MP Ted Menzies to have the date recognized in parliament. The event is now recognized by legions across the country.
Parades will be held in both Okotoks and Turner Valley, with the colour party leading the way, followed by veterans, legion members, cadets, local politicians, and RCMP members. The Okotoks parade will begin at 6 p.m. at the Elks Hall, and will march towards the cenotaph for a wreath laying ceremony, and then back to the Elks Hall for a reception and speeches, including an unofficially naming ceremony of Centre Avenue which is being renamed to Veterans Way to honour Okotoks’ veterans.
The Turner Valley parade will begin at the swimming pool at 6:30 p.m. and will march towards the Turner Valley Legion for a short ceremony and reception afterwards.
