Canadian National Vimy Memorial
MemorialAlso known as Mémorial national du Canada à Vimy
Vimy, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
About
-
Get directions Route départementale 55, Chem. des Canadiens
62580 Givenchy-en-Gohelle, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais
FranceCoordinates: 50.37940, 2.77379 - No longer accepting burials
- www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/visit-canadian-memorials-in-europe/hours-address-contact
- [email protected]
- +011 33 3 21 50 68 68
-
Office Address
Canadian National Vimy Memorial
Mémorial national du Canada à Vimy
Route D55 (Chemin des Canadiens)
62580 Givenchy-en-Gohelle
France - Cemetery ID:
-
Additional information
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial overlooks the Douai Plain from the highest point of Vimy Ridge, about eight kilometers northeast of Arras. From the N17, follow the D55E2 to the D55, then proceed northward toward Givenchy-en-Gohelle. Signs directing visitors to the memorial are clear and readily observed.
There is an office and Visitor Education Centre on site.
The grounds around the memorial are open year-round, containing restored and preserved trenches and tunnels. To view these, it is recommended that visitors pre-book. Without a booking, visitors will be accommodated depending on operational capacity. To make a booking, please contact the Vimy Office.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains a virtual memorial for the 11,236 casualties.
Members have Contributed
Advertisement
Photos
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial honours all Canadians who served during the First World War. The Memorial bears the names of those who died in France with no known grave.
On the opening day of the Battle of Arras, 9 April 1917, four divisions of the Canadian Corps, fighting side by side for the first time, scored a huge tactical victory in the capture of the 60 metre high Vimy Ridge. After the war, the highest point of the ridge was chosen as the site of the great memorial to all Canadians who served their country in battle during the First World War, and particularly to the 60,000 who gave their lives in France. The memorial was designed by Canadian architect and sculptor, Walter Seymour Allward.
In 1920, the Canadian Battlefields Memorials Commission was established to oversee creation of eight Canadian battlefield memorials in France and Belgium. The most impressive is the majestic and inspiring Canadian National Vimy Memorial. With a wealth of symbolism in its sculptures, it is a lasting tribute to the ultimate sacrifice Canadians made in Europe in the First World War.
Resting on a bed of 15,000 tonnes of concrete, its pylons and sculptured figures contain almost 6,000 tonnes of Croatian limestone. Towering 27 metres above the base of the monument, the two pylons represent Canada and France – two nations beset by war and united to fight for a common goal – peace and freedom for the Allied nations.
Twenty symbolic figures grace the monument. The topmost – that of Peace – is approximately 110 metres above. Arranged below are other figures representing Justice, Truth, Knowledge, Gallantry and Sympathy. The largest figure, a mourning figure known as Canada Bereft, was carved from a single 30‑tonne block. Head bowed in sorrow, she provides a powerful representation of Canada, a young nation grieving her dead. Overlooking the Douai Plain, she gazes down upon a symbolic tomb draped in laurel branches and bearing a helmet and sword.
Carved on the walls of the monument are the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who died in France and whose final resting place was then unknown. At the base of the Memorial, these words appear in French and in English:
TO THE VALOUR OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN IN THE GREAT WAR AND IN MEMORY OF THEIR SIXTY THOUSAND DEAD THIS MONUMENT IS RAISED BY THE PEOPLE OF CANADA
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial honours all Canadians who served during the First World War. The Memorial bears the names of those who died in France with no known grave.
On the opening day of the Battle of Arras, 9 April 1917, four divisions of the Canadian Corps, fighting side by side for the first time, scored a huge tactical victory in the capture of the 60 metre high Vimy Ridge. After the war, the highest point of the ridge was chosen as the site of the great memorial to all Canadians who served their country in battle during the First World War, and particularly to the 60,000 who gave their lives in France. The memorial was designed by Canadian architect and sculptor, Walter Seymour Allward.
In 1920, the Canadian Battlefields Memorials Commission was established to oversee creation of eight Canadian battlefield memorials in France and Belgium. The most impressive is the majestic and inspiring Canadian National Vimy Memorial. With a wealth of symbolism in its sculptures, it is a lasting tribute to the ultimate sacrifice Canadians made in Europe in the First World War.
Resting on a bed of 15,000 tonnes of concrete, its pylons and sculptured figures contain almost 6,000 tonnes of Croatian limestone. Towering 27 metres above the base of the monument, the two pylons represent Canada and France – two nations beset by war and united to fight for a common goal – peace and freedom for the Allied nations.
Twenty symbolic figures grace the monument. The topmost – that of Peace – is approximately 110 metres above. Arranged below are other figures representing Justice, Truth, Knowledge, Gallantry and Sympathy. The largest figure, a mourning figure known as Canada Bereft, was carved from a single 30‑tonne block. Head bowed in sorrow, she provides a powerful representation of Canada, a young nation grieving her dead. Overlooking the Douai Plain, she gazes down upon a symbolic tomb draped in laurel branches and bearing a helmet and sword.
Carved on the walls of the monument are the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who died in France and whose final resting place was then unknown. At the base of the Memorial, these words appear in French and in English:
TO THE VALOUR OF THEIR COUNTRYMEN IN THE GREAT WAR AND IN MEMORY OF THEIR SIXTY THOUSAND DEAD THIS MONUMENT IS RAISED BY THE PEOPLE OF CANADA
Nearby cemeteries
Neuville-Saint-Vaast, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
- Total memorials111
- Percent photographed100%
- Percent with GPS5%
Neuville-Saint-Vaast, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
- Total memorials822
- Percent photographed73%
- Percent with GPS6%
Souchez, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
- Total memorials123
- Percent photographed81%
- Percent with GPS1%
Souchez, Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
- Total memorials180
- Percent photographed24%
- Percent with GPS6%
- Added: 28 Feb 2002
- Find a Grave Cemetery ID: 1119613
Success
Uploading...
Waiting...
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this cemetery already has 20 photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this cemetery
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this cemetery
Invalid File Type
Birth and death years unknown.
1 photo picked...
2 photos picked...
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Size exceeded
Too many photos have been uploaded
"Unsupported file type"
• ##count## of 0 memorials with GPS displayed. Double click on map to view more.No cemeteries found