Alan_J Posted 9 May , 2005 Share Posted 9 May , 2005 I recently picked up a couple of, I believe, French postcards of memorials at Vimy - which I can't remember having seen there. I wonder if anyone can help me out - were these replaced by the present Vimy memorial, or are they still there? The postcards are around 1930s at a guess. One is a large cross with the words "To the memory of the officers NCOs and men of the 2nd Canadian Division and of the 13th Infantry Brigade who fell in the capture of Vimy Ridge April 9th 1917. The other is a tapering squat structure surmounted by a cross, with a central plaque on the main structure. The wording is too small to read, but the caption suggests is is a Canadian Srtillery memorial. I will post scans if possible.... Thanks Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_J Posted 9 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 9 May , 2005 Scan of the two postcards.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_J Posted 9 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 9 May , 2005 Just to complete the question, the following picture, which comes from the Library & Archives Canada, shows a memorial to the 87th Canadian Infantry Battalion. Again, I didn't see this - is it still there? Many thanks Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 9 May , 2005 Share Posted 9 May , 2005 The artillery memorial is still there, in surroundings which have changed very little. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_J Posted 9 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 9 May , 2005 Thanks Tom, Can you tell me a little more about where it is in relation to the main memorial? Thanks Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andigger Posted 9 May , 2005 Share Posted 9 May , 2005 There was a similar thread a few months ago, and Paul Reed added a pic he took. Hopefully he can repost the pic if it hasn't been reloaded. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Jones Posted 9 May , 2005 Share Posted 9 May , 2005 The cross to the 2nd Division and 13th Brigade is now in the Citadel in Quebec, I saw it there last year. The battlefield of the Plains of Abraham is also dotted with German artillery pieces from Vimy and elsewhere on the Western Front. Regards Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_J Posted 9 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 9 May , 2005 There was a similar thread a few months ago, and Paul Reed added a pic he took. Hopefully he can repost the pic if it hasn't been reloaded. Andy <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Andy, I found that thread on the archive, complete with picture - from the shape I don't think it is the same memorial. Simon, - thanks for the picture of the 2nd Division Cross, glad to know it is still in existence! I wonder if it was relocated when the main memorial was put up - any Canadians who might know more? Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Morgan Posted 9 May , 2005 Share Posted 9 May , 2005 Thanks Tom, Can you tell me a little more about where it is in relation to the main memorial? Thanks Alan <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Alan - it's at the crossroads on the outskirts of the village of Thelus. If you can get a road map you will see Junction 7 of the A1 motorway. If you follow the road from the motorway junction towards the Vimy memorial park (the N17) you will see a crossroad a few hundred metres after the motorway. The memorial is on the north-east corner of this crossroad. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_J Posted 9 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 9 May , 2005 Thanks Tom, I didn't have much time last time I was at Vimy - I stopped off on the way to the Somme and spent much of the time on the Grange Tunnel tour. Will have to try and see more of the area next time. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plan Posted 10 May , 2005 Share Posted 10 May , 2005 Hi, I couldn't see the pictures from the previous thread, so maybe this is redundant. But these could be of interest, from the Canadian National Archives (click on the photograph to enlarge): 87th Battalion: http://data4.collectionscanada.ca/netacgi/..._f.html&r=2&f=G 2nd Division, October 1917: http://data4.collectionscanada.ca/netacgi/..._f.html&r=3&f=G 2nd Division, July 1918: http://data4.collectionscanada.ca/netacgi/..._f.html&r=4&f=G Pascal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan_J Posted 10 May , 2005 Author Share Posted 10 May , 2005 Pascal, Thanks for your links to the Canadian pictures. There is only one picture in the other thread (the "forgotten Vimy memorial"; the link again is here. You need to scroll down the post when it opens to get to the photo - or the photo is here!. The pictures you posted (or links to them) are interesting - the first is the same as the black & white one of the 87th Candadian Infantry Battalion I posted above - I don't know if this is still in situ at Vimy? The third picture I had seen before, but again is this still at Vimy? The second picture (again a memorial to the second division, but this time apparently a different one) raises the same question. I wonder what memorials at Vimy have been removed for various reasons (like the cross to the 2nd Division, now in Quebec), and whether this was because of the construction of the present Vimy memorial. I don't know if anyone knows of a book or other source that might lead me to some information on this? On a wider front, it would be interesting to know how many memorials on the Western Front have been moved, lost or deliberately taken down for whatever reason over the years. I'm aware of some that have been moved from private land to be near CWGC cemeteries so they could be maintained. Will do some searching on the archives to see if I can find any information! I'm sure this will have been discussed on the forum before. Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyHollinger Posted 10 May , 2005 Share Posted 10 May , 2005 Thanks for your research on the other string. Seeing a "stripped" memorial is a bit tough to take ... but time and history marches on ... they ALL can't be kept or maintained, I supposed ... can you imagine what N France or Belgium would look like? Still it is sad ... but even in it's faded state it is quiet moving ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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