“We must remember all the people from this area who fought and died at Vimy.”
This was veteran, military historian and Salmon Arm Legion Branch 62 member Harry Welton’s closing remark for a ceremony marking the Battle of Vimy Ridge held at the city cenotaph on Tuesday, April 9.
Welton, who served as the event’s Master of Ceremonies, said it was the first time the legion had hosted a Vimy ceremony in a while. Similar to the legion’s Remembrance Day ceremonies, the solemn occasion included prayer, a moment of silence and the laying of wreaths. One wreath was placed by veteran Bob Quinton, a former member of the Canadian Royal Artillery, on behalf of his father Charles Henry Quinton, a royal artillery gunner who served in the First World War and at Vimy.
The Battle of Vimy, which took place April 9-12, 1917, is referred to by the Canadian War Museum as a defining moment for the nation, an operation where Canadian infantry overran and captured the German-held Vimy Ridge. Though an important battlefield victory, it came at a terrible cost, with 3,598 Canadians killed and another 7,000 wounded.
Read more: We will remember them: Salmon Arm historian records the stories of more than 100 veterans