Willkommen bei Adobe GoLive 6

Tuesday 30 October was basically had a free day so we visited the museum in Cloth Hall. Back to the Menin Gate where the Arch commemorates, by name, nearly 55,000 dead of the armies of the British Commonwealth who fell in Belgium during the First World War, most of them in the Ypres Salient, but whose final resting-place is known only unto God. Of these 6,940 are Canadians.

We then drove to Passchendaele to the Canadian Memorial where the slopes overlook the peaceful fields that today carpet the valley of the Ravebeek, this Canadian Battlefield Memorial marks the site of Crest Farm, where Canadian soldiers encountered some of the fiercest resistance they were to meet during the war. A large block of Canadian granite set in a grove of maple trees and encircled with a low hedge of holly carries the inscription: The Canadian Corps in October and November 1917 advanced across this valley then a treacherous morass captured and held the Passchendaele Ridge.

Next we visited the Tyne Cot Memorial and Cemetery. The Tyne Cot Memorial forms the northeastern boundary of Tyne Cot Cemetery, which is situated between Passchendaele (now known as Passendale) and Zonnebeke. The name "Tyne Cottages" or "Tyne Cotts" was given by the Northumberland Fusiliers to a group of German blockhouses, or pillboxes, situated near the level crossing on the Passchendaele to Broodseinde road. Three of these blockhouses still stand in the cemetery. The largest, which was captured on 4 October 1917 by the 3rd Australian Division, was chosen as the site for the Cross of Sacrifice by King George V during his pilgrimage to the cemeteries of the Western Front in Belgium and France in 1922.

The Tyne Cot Cemetery is now the resting-place of nearly 12,000 soldiers of the Commonwealth Forces, the largest number of burials of any Commonwealth cemetery of either world war. It first came into being in October 1917 when one of the captured pillboxes was used as an Advanced Dressing Station, resulting in some 350 burials between then and the end of March 1918. The cemetery was much enlarged after the Armistice by the concentration of more than 11,500 graves from the battlefields of Passchendaele and Langemarck and from a few small burial grounds. The dates of death cover the four years from October 1914 to September 1918 inclusive. Unnamed graves in the cemetery number nearly 8,400, or 70% of the total, and the names of the unidentified soldiers who lie in them are inscribed on the Menin Gate and on the panels of the Memorial which stands to the rear of the cemetery. The site of the Memorial is on high ground on the western slopes of the Passchendaele Ridge, from which the whole country to the English Channel lies open. It is in the middle of an agricultural district, with widely scattered farms and small villages. It represents the most desperate offensive fighting of the Commonwealth Armies in Belgium, as Ypres represents their most stubborn resistance, and it stands close to the farthest point in Belgium reached by Commonwealth arms in the First World War until the final advance to victory.

The Memorial, is a semicircular flint wall 4.25 metres high and more than 150 metres long, faced with panels of Portland stone on which are carved nearly 35,000 names of those who have no known grave. There are three apses and two rotundas. The central apse forms the New Zealand Memorial and bears the names of nearly 1,200 officers and men who gave their lives in the Battle of Broodseinde and in the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) in October 1917. The other two, as well as the rotundas and the wall itself, carry the names of United Kingdom dead who fell in the Salient between the 15 August 1917, when the Battle of Langemarck began, and the Armistice, in the Third and Fourth Battles of Ypres. Two domed arched pavilions mark the ends of the main wall, each dome being surmounted by a winged female figure with head bowed over a wreath.

Next we visited a private museum in Sanctuary Wood. Originally this area was a German hospital area hence the name, later it became part of the front line area and after the war the farmer that owned the land returned and preserved the area containing the massive trenched and fortified area as it had been during the war. The museum displays many of the weapons, artillery pieces and many pictures showing the devastation caused by the fierce fighting during the war years. We returned to Ypres where we had supper and again went to the Menin Gate to watch the Last Post Ceremony. After the ceremony we stopped by the Royal British Legion which is located in the courtyard of St. George's Church.

St. George's Church has a rather different background, but an equally moving one. Constructed after the war in order to provide a place of worship for the many English families, whose men were working on the cemeteries and memorials, it soon became a memorial in itself. Brass plaques representing famous British Regiments line the walls and almost every article of furniture has been contributed by those who had a special reason for remembering Ypres. Inside the always-open door there is the following inscription:

The Canadian contributions include the fine paneling around the altar, which was the gift of the Army Garrison at London, Ontario. As well plaques given by the Canadian Machine Gun Corps and the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry; and a stained glass window dedicated to British and Canadian airmen who perished defending the Ypres Salient. Today, St. George's is still a place of worship for Protestants living in Ypres, but the parishioners are not so many now and the church depends largely on donations from those whose memories of Ypres are still fresh.

Wednesday 31 October we went back to Passchendaele where at 1030 hours we paraded with our Colour Party to the dedication of a new monument in honour of the men of the 85th Canadian Infantry Battalion, Nova Scotia Highlanders who fell in the battle for Passchendaele. In 1998 we made a trip to the old monument which was weather beaten and in pretty bad shape. Pictures were taken and the Zone Commander sent the pictures along with a detailed description of the monument's condition. At the Legion Convention in Halifax in the summer of 2000 the Highlanders had a booth set up collecting money to have a new monument built which this year with the assistance of the Belgium Army Engineers the new monument was erected an re-dedicated. The ceremony included an Honour Guard from the Nova Scotia Highlanders, a band, dignitaries from Belgium and Canada and our Legion Colour Party.

A picture of the old monument errected in the 1920's. Later it was put on a foundation and finally replaced 31 October 2001

It was our honour in October of 1997 to have been able to attend the ceremony at the Menin Gate as the Mayor of Ypres declared the 20,000 times that the bugle calls had taken place and had also declared that they should continue for another 20,000 calls. This year on Wednesday 31 October 2001 at 2000 hours we were again honoured as we attended the dedication that marked the 25,000 bugle calls. Unfortunately the ceremony had little to do with Veterans. Since there was Royalty present at the ceremony the Military was front and center with bands, honour guards provided by the British, a guard from the Canadian Lincoln & Welland Regiment and the Nova Scotia Highlanders.

On Thursday 01 November we left Ypres and traveled to Knokke-Heist the actual date of the liberation of the city where we met with a group of city officials and at 1100 hours we laid a wreath at the Resistance Monument in a small but rather touching ceremony. While in Knokke we visited Canada Square and the main city War Memorial where on the 3 November they have their official ceremony in conjunction with an annual march.

The first fighting in Belgium began in early September but it became "A Long Way to Knokke" for the Canadians. The speed of the Canadian advancement must be viewed with amazement and admiration considering they conquered Dieppe on the 1st of September and on the 8th of September the coastal city of Ostend fell into their hands and they were on the Bruges.

They had hundreds of triumphant kilometers behind them, all in eight days! Almost everyone thought that the liberation of the Belgium coast from Ostend to the extreme part of Knokke near the Dutch border would be only a matter of hours since Knokke is roughly only twenty kilometers from Bruges. The city of Bruges did not suffer any war damage and was liberated on 12th September 1944.

Who would have thought the Canadians would have to make a long detour over Maldegem, Boekhoute, Zelzate and Terneuzen? It became a long tough struggle until the 1st of November before they could march into the little part of West Flanders Knokke and not from the west as expected but from the east and finally destroyed the last German entrenchment near the floodgates to the sea near Zeebruges.

On All Saints Day 1944, the 9th Brigade entered Knokke with the 8th Brigade on the south flank. The North Nova Scotia Highlanders captured Major General Eberding Commander of the German 64th Infantry Division in a concrete pillbox on the golf course at Het Zoute. The North Shore New Brunswick Regiment captured Sluis and Stint Anna ter Muiden. The 3rd Anti Tank Regiment, RCA captured Oostkerke and the Queen's Own Rifles captured Westkapelle.

Two days later on 3 November the very last German defenses were destroyed near Zeebruges. In this part of Flanders the last German white flags were hoisted over the drowned Flemish Region. On 3 November at 0950 the last German resistance on the coastline was broken.

Iris, Daniel Van Landschoot and their two lovely children Elke and Michiel met us in Knokke. They met us also in Ypres, actually they meet us everywhere and look after us extremely well. They invited us to their home in Sint-Laureins, Belgium and on the way we drove the short distance into the Netherlands to visit a memorial dedicated to the Royal Canadian Engineers at a dike in a town called Retranchement. The description on the plaque describes the action "After the offensive of the Westerschelde the Canadians fought an exhaustive battle in the Polders of Zeeuwsch-Vlaamse and along the dikes in the direction of the Belgium Border and Knokke-Heist at the end of October 1944. The Royal Canadian Engineers under the leadership of Sgt. J.L. Hackman reached the drainage Canal at Retranchement. Under heavy shellfire they erected a Bailey Bridge on this site on 31 October 1944 where Sgt. Hickman was mortally wounded. In tribute to him and his comrades this bridge was dedicated in his name on 30 October 1986. This simple monument was adopted by the children of the local school".

We next drove to Hoofdplaat where there is a Canadian monument on the Sheldt Estuary dedicated to units of the 9th Infantry Brigade who landed there in October 1944. Basically what happened was on 8 October Lieutenant Commander (RN) Franks led a surprise amphibious assault with the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade, which consisted of the Highland Light Infantry, the Stormond Dundas & Glengary Highlanders and the North Nova Scotia Highlanders. They came in through Holland and approached from the West Scheldt. They came in from Terneuzen that had been liberated on 20 September. This approach caught the Germans by surprise, the North Nova Scotia Highlanders captured 9 Germans in dugouts on the beach. On Amber Beach the Buffalo's (landing crafts) of the Highland Light Infantry bogged down in the mud. The Buffalo's returned to Terneuzen to pick up the Stormond Dundas & Glengary Highlanders plus heavy mortars and machine guns of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa. They landed at Green Beech at the Dutch village of Biervliet and moved on to Hoofdplaat by 1030 hours. By 10 October there was continual artillery fire as the enemy fought back. The Highland Light Infantry was continually attacked, also Hoofdplaat was well defended as the Stormont Dundas & Glengary Highlanders lost 17 dead and 44 wounded in the two days of battle. The North Nova Scotia Highlanders took three days and 50 casualties in the taking of Driewegen. This action, however, eased the pressure on the bridgehead at Strobrugge.

On the way back to Sint-Laureins we stopped at another monument where on 20 October 1944 at a farm on Isabelleweg near the town of Ijzendijke, The Netherlands a horrific accidental explosion occurred. The explosion caused the death of forty-one British and Canadian soldiers and caused injury to another fifty-one some of which would be fatal. The majority of the soldiers present on that fateful day were from 204 Armoured Assault Squadron, Royal Engineers and soldiers of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps of the 7th Infantry Brigade. It is unclear what actually caused the initial explosion and since no official investigation was ever done the incident went basically unrecorded. Finally Lance Sergeant Charles Martin Reagan who was there as the Commander of a Churchill Tank in 3 Troop 284 Armoured Assault Squadron, Royal Engineers in October of 1944 decided to write his account of events which occurred on that sad day. His account is a tribute to the sacrifice of those who lost their lives, those who were wounded and those who survived with scars which cannot be seen, all deserve recognition and their efforts should be recorded.

The problems posed by modern fortification warfare of that time was before attackers could get to grips with defenders they usually had to cross an Anti-Tank ditch, pass through a minefield, find a way over thickly laid barbed wire. Then deal with defenders who are probably in very strong and deep concrete positions. Ordinary Infantry supported with conventional armour would find the above conditions very difficult to overcome and very costly. With these problems in mind the British Army set up in 1942/43 a specially equipped Armoured Division under the Command of Major General Hobart hence the name that this equipment later acquired "Hobart Funnies". The 79th Armored Division (British) who operated the so-called "Funnies" had one Canadian Regiment (The Royal Canadian Mechanical Engineers Regiment from Calgary) attached to them. The concept and uses of these specialized "funnies" is as follows:

Assault Vehicles Royal Engineers or ( AVRE'S):

The gun was removed from the self-propelled gun (105-mm) and the chassis of a tank remodeled to create the Priest or first Armored Personnel Carrier (APC).

Nicholus Straussler, a Hungarian Engineer in Britain created the "Duplex Drive" which was a tank with canvas curtains, which enabled it to swim to shore at approximately 4 knots per hour. The tank was propeller driven by the tank motor. The troops called it the Donald Duck.

Major A.S. Du Tot of the South African Army invented the first "Flail Tank". Referred to as the "Sherman Crab" it had a flail mounted on the front of a normal Sherman Tank used against mines. The flail was controlled by the tank's engine. The flail would explode the mines in front of the tank creating a path through a minefield. To avert the success of the Flail Tank the Germans used timed fuses on some of their mines.

The "Conger" invented by the Canadians was the first minefield detonator consisting of a rocket that was fired over a minefield, the rocket pulled behind it a sixty meter length of flexible hose. Nitroglycerin was then pumped into the hose with the aid of compressed air. A time fuse was lit which detonated the nitroglycerin clearing a path through the minefield. Because of the danger involved it was later replaced by the new detonator called the "Snake" or "Viper" which used a 20 foot section of 3 inch pipe loaded with TNT connected end to end and was pushed into place by a Sherman Tank across a minefield and electrically detonated. It would clear a path 20 feet wide.

The "Carpet Layer Churchill" had a 100 foot length of cloth reinforced with strips of wood mounted on a hydraulic operated roller bobbin that would allow the tank to travel over the carpet.

The "Churchill Ark" was an armoured ramp carrier. It was a tank with the turret removed and replaced with two timber ramps on the top that would allow other tanks to pass over it at a wall or other tank barriers.

The "Churchill with Facines" was a bundle of wooden stakes wrapped together with wire to form a bundle that could be laid into a ditch. The bundles disconnected by an explosive link.

The "Goat Tank" was a tank with a hydraulic mounted shaped charge on a frame at the front of a tank. The tank drives up to an object, places the charge and backs off. An electric cable then explodes the charge.

The "Conker Nut Tank" was a tank mounted with sixty 4.5-inch rockets in a frame on top of the turret.

The "Petard Tank" or Mortar Recoiling Spigot was a short-range launcher that fired a 40-pound HE (High Explosive) bombs a distance of 75 yards. The British called it the "Flying Dustbin for the Canadians it was the "Airborne Garbage Can". Regardless of the name you most certainly would not want to be standing in the near when such an object went flying through the air.

The "Crocodile Tank" was a tank that had a detachable trailer of liquid fuel, which was towed and could fire 100-foot flames in short bursts for clearing bunkers and fortified positions. The trailer could be released by an explosive link. In action they were fearsome to behold and quickly persuaded defenders that there was no future behind concrete.

By virtue of the nature of work preformed by these Engineers and the task described of the vehicles large quantities of explosives were always carried. The explosives were carried in storage compartments inside the tank but they required a primary explosion to activate them, which would normally involve a primer or detonator so these explosives were considered quite safe.

The 284th Armoured Assault Squadron was brought to the area by transporters and off loaded in the night some 20-Km's from the actual assembly area on the Isabellaweg Farm in Holland. Lance Sergeant Charles Martin Reagan and his crew in 3 Fox would bring up the rear. During their lasts mission in France the unit were tasked to assist the Canadians in dealing with the cross channel guns west of Calais and Fox 3's specific task for that mission was to carry "Fascine". In order to fasten these large bundles of wood some 8 feet in diameter held together with steel cables to the front of the tank the light bar holding the masked headlights and as ultra violet light had to be removed. The light bar had not been replaced which left the driver in an impossible situation particularly when the road was summered in water. Sergeant Reagan contacted his Troop Commander by radio and received permission to stop and fix his lights. He was given a six-figure grid reference as to the location of the Squadron assembly point and the Squadron disappeared into the night.

The light were fixed and as he proceeded to the rendezvous point he missed the turnoff to Isabellaweg and wound up in the village of Ijzendijke which fortunately was occupied by the Canadians. He met an Infantry Sergeant that confirmed his location and said he was sure there were no German Units in the area but there was some concern there may be snipers in the area. The Canadian Sergeant directed him to the correct road to the Squadron. It was late and very dark seeing no sign of the Squadron after traveling a short distance Sergeant Reagan decided to spend the night and continue the next morning in daylight.

The next morning they turned back along the road to Ijzendijke came to the junction to Isabellaweg and off to the right they could see the farm and made radio contact with the Squadron. Because of a damaged culvert they were asked not to travel over it and given a location at the entrance to the farm to park their tank. Sergeant Reagan went forward on foot over the culvert and was shown the parking space he and his crew was to occupy and at that time was told he would be responsible for the "Conger" in the forthcoming mission.

At the approach to the Isabellaweg Farm where the 284th Armoured Assault Squadron, Royal Engineers were deployed there was an entrance road to the farm of some two hundred and fifty meters and halfway along the road there was a dyke passing under the road through a culvert. The culvert had collapsed due to the heavy weight of the tanks passing over it the previous night and trucks could only cross the dyke with the help of a recovery vehicle.

Then along came a convoy of Royal Canadian Army Service Corps vehicles. They would have been carrying the usual load for these occasions, food, rations, petrol etc. and one truck would be carrying the nitroglycerine for the conger. Each truck had a difficult time being pulled across the collapsed culvert by the Armoured Recovery Vehicle which was really a Churchill Tank with the turret removed and lifting and towing gear installed to help the mechanics to work on tanks. The A.R.V. was a very powerful vehicle and would give the trucks a very rough time pulling them over the damaged culvert. In retrospect one must shudder to think of the truck carrying the nitroglycerine receiving this treatment since this unstable liquid explosive was to be treated with the greatest respect and caution. The rations would have been delivered to a central point while the petrol may have been taken around to the three troops and the nitroglycerine taken to the Conger or parking spot that had been designated for Fox 3 to be loaded into the storage tank.

By lunchtime Sergeant Reagan had still not received instructions to cross the damaged culvert. It looked like he would have to wait until the Canadian trucks had left so they were sitting around having lunch Sergeant Reagan was sitting on a "jerrycan" (Petrol Container) when the Squadron Commander Major Blomfield stopped his armoured car alongside the tank. He was not aware of instructions the crew had not to cross the damaged culvert.

It was shortly before 1300 hours and as Sergeant Reagan was explaining his situation to his Commander there came the sound of a tremendous explosion from the area of the farm. Major Blomfield said "Good God what was that"? Bent down shouted to his driver and the armoured car sped off along the road to the farm. Sergeant Reagan turned around to return to his crew and saw his driver "Ginger" Hall who had been seated opposite to him lying on the ground crying out in terrible pain with a shattered leg. Through the petrol container on which Sergeant Reagan had been sitting there was a hole you could put your hand through. It must have been a piece of shrapnel, which had caused the injury to his likable and popular driver.

Getting his driver made as comfortable as possible in his circumstance Sergeant Reagan crossed the culvert on foot and made for the Squadron. Before him was a scene of devastation. The force of the explosion must have been that of a fireball there was wreckage everywhere. Men had been out in the open some working on tanks, probably refueling, others inside of their tanks and quite a number had been upstairs in the barn, which had no been destroyed. One of the important early tasks was to search through the wreckage of the barn for our colleagues. There was stunned confusion everywhere with people doing what they thought they should do. In retrospect probably if all able survivors would have been called together and given specific tasks the rescue efforts would have been better. Solders from other units began to arrive, including medical personnel, to help with the terrible task of trying to rescue survivors, and their presents was comforting.

When nigh began to fall the survivors were taken to a nearby farm where they spent the night in a barn. Initially we learned that that fifteen of our colleagues had been killed and over fifty wounded some so seriously that they were given little chance of surviving. The Canadians had suffered as well again initially we heard three were killed and seven posted as missing.

The next morning we came to a consensus on how we would recover our tanks. We also had a visit by the General Commanding the 79th Armoured Division Major General Hobart who talked to us about the hardships and casualties of World War I and how they carried on in spite of everything. His speech was not well received and as Sergeant Reagan said "You do not discuss matters with a General, You do not talk to him unless invited to do so, you merely listen. I felt then as I feel now, that it would have been far better if he had not made his visit and allowed us to carry out the response we had already agreed upon".

Within an hour of the General's visit we were told that we were going to recover our tanks and load them on transporters. This was the first indication that we were being pulled out and we were all very disappointed. Trucks took them to the collapsed culvert and they crossed the dyke on foot to survey the scene of destruction and to decide which tanks could be driven out and which would have to be recovered by ARV's. It was during this time that Sergeant Reagan was about 30 meters from the now destroyed barn and about the same distance from a wire fence that enclosed a grass field were he saw three horses running across the field alongside each other. As he watched the horses an explosion erupted underneath the middle horse killing it and the other two galloped away. The explosion he witnessed was what you would expect from an anti-tank mine.

It is interesting how the mind can play trick on you! During the loading of the tanks Sergeant Reagan went to his tank and since he had no driver he decided to load the tank himself. They opened the tank and Sergeant Reagan went to the rear of the turret and primed the Ammal Pump, then gave the spring loaded "Ki-Gas" pump a few pulls which sprayed gas vapor in the induction manifold to ensure early firing. Then he got in the driver's seat and switched on the ignition but when he went to press the starter button a feeling came over him that he can never forget. He felt that the whole world was going to explode when he pressed the starter button; it was with joyous relief, when the only thing that happened was the engine roared into life. When the tanks were loaded the unit moved back over the border into Belgium, took up residence in a Chateau in an area between Zelzate and Eeklo where they stayed for a week.

At the end of the week the Squadron moved to the town of Lier outside of Antwerp where they stayed for about a month during which time the unit shortage in men and tanks was brought back up to strength. They then moved to Bladel near Eindhoven and left there in January 1945 passed through Tilburg-S-Hertgenbosch, over the bridge at Graves to Nijmegen. Then crossed the border into Germany, passing through the towns of Goch, Kleve and Kevelare. The great barrier of the Rhine River was crossed at Wesel, which turned out to be the last real obstacle of the war. They crossed the North German Plain with the British Liberation Army, soon to become British Army of the Rhine. On the day the war officially ended in Europe May 8th 1945 the unit was billeted in a school in the German Baltic port city of Lübeck. Sergeant Reagan had been a Tank Commander for sixteen months and his twenty first birthday was four days away. Quite a guy!!

In conclusion Sergeant Reagan reflects on how and why the tragedy may have happened. The fact was that there were plenty of explosives present but the soldier's professionalism in regards to the safe handling and storage of these devices would not come into question. The refueling procedures had been carried out many many times and were carried out daily by hundreds of units throughout the Army with never a suggestion of an accident. Smoking was mentioned as a possible cause of the trouble but smoking in the vicinity of the tank was strictly forbidden and he cannot recall one instance of such un-discipline, but it is still a possibility. Tank crews often have to look after themselves and most crews had gas type of stove for cooking although he didn't see any being used on that fateful day. Another possibility that was always on his mind was that a "rogue" mine was involved remembering the three horses. Then there was the presence of nitroglycerine, considering the rough ride it had over the damaged culvert can it become so unstable that it will explode spontaneously without a primary explosion, if it will then we could be very close to the answer.

There is one thing for sure that Sergeant Reagan knows. If the events of that time had been normal that is to say. If he didn't have to stop and replace his light bar. If he hadn't lost his way. If he had been able to see the Squadron from the map reference at the junction that he had been given at night. Finally that he could not cross the damaged culvert was an almost unbelievable stroke of good fortune. If all of these things had not happened, because of the task they had on this mission, he and his crew would have been parked by the vehicle caring the nitroglycerine when it exploded. The poet says "Let me like a soldier die" The soldier says "Please Lord let me die with my boots clean" another way of asking to be spared a violent death.

War is not an exiting game, even a just war that the liberation of Europe surely was. It brings tragedy, suffering and losses to all. It is messy and ugly even the innocent are called upon to pay a heavy price. The joy of seeing liberated people was tempered by the realization for the first time of what a terrible thing occupation must have been and the hardship did not end with liberation.

On the morning of 2 November under sunny skies at the Canadian War Cemetery in Bergen-Op-Zoom, the Netherlands the latest two victims of "Operation Elephant" that took place at Kapelsche Veer, The Netherlands 26 - 29 January 1945 were buried. The two bodies were discovered while repairs were being done to a dyke. They were finally laid to rest with full military honours including a firing party from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders, an honour guard from the Lincoln & Welland Regiment and our Legion Colour Party including flags from Holland, Belgium and the Royal British Legion.

The Ceremony was well attended by Canadian military personnel, local Dutch and Belgium people and members of the Royal British Legion as each coffin was carried in accompanied by a piper and members of the fallen soldier's family. The lament was played followed by the service, volleys being fired by the Guard of Honour, Last Post, Paying of last respects, Moment of Silence and a floral tributes. The ceremony ended with a fly past from the Royal Netherlands Air Force.


During the Ceremony	Jimmy Stewart and I have the pleasure to chat with Smokey Smith.

A reception was held after the ceremony at a location somewhere in the city of Bergen-Op-Zoom but unfortunately we lost the convoy at traffic lights and never did find the location. As it was getting late and we had a long drive ahead of us we left for Arras in France where we had accommodations arranged at a French Military Hotel in Arras. We arrived at approximately 1700 hours got straightened away and walked the short distance into the center of the city. We met with members from Branch 003 and went to supper at one of our favorite Italian restaurants.

On Saturday 03 November was an early rise, had breakfast and drove to Beaumont-Hamel to provide a Colour Party and take part in the annual remembrance ceremony at the Newfoundland monument. A reception was held following the ceremony in the nearby village of Mailly-Mailet. Following the reception we went back to Beaumont-Hamel and the Zone Commander gave a battle field tour for members of our Colour Party who had never been in this area. Then it was on to the Irish monument of the battle of the Somme, which is the memorial to all soldiers of Ulster who died during the Great War. Then we stopped at the British memorial of Thiepval. The memorial is here to commemorate the English offensive of July 1916. It bears the names of the 73,000 British of the third armies that fell in the Somme from 1915 to March 1918 and who have no known grave. An imposing monument, visible for miles symbolizes the joint British and French army efforts in the battle of the Somme, but also in other theatre of operations in Asia and in Africa.

The cemetery that is attached to it contains 600 graves, half French, half British. They represent the million of dead of the British Empire and the even bigger losses of France and its colonies. It also contains burials of 10 Australian, 4 Canadian and a New Zealander.

Late in the afternoon we returned to the barracks in Arras changed went into the city for supper had a couple of beers and after a long day returned to the hotel for the night.

On Sunday 04 November we provided a Colour Party for the Remembrance Ceremony at Vimy Ridge. We finally had the day we always looked forward to at Vimy. The weather was warm, it was sunny and believe it or not there was no wind. Considering in past years we stood in snow, we stood there in the rain and often we had winds that would blow you off your feet. Below is a brief description of the battle that took place for Vimy Ridge.

In 1916 at Verdun and the Somme the casualty figures reached a toll of almost two million men. Yet this war of attrition and stalemate had two full years to run. Early in 1917 the Allies launched another massive offensive, ever determined to achieve the elusive breakthrough. This time the plans called for a French offensive in the south between Reims and Soissons, combined with British diversionary attacks about Arras.

The Germans, meanwhile, quietly withdrew to strong new defences, the Hindenburg Line. In so doing they exchanged a long, bulging line for a well-situated shorter one which they fortified with powerful modern devices. The Canadian share of the British assault was the seizure of Vimy Ridge. The task was formidable. For the Germans it was a vital key in their defence system and they had fortified it well. The slopes, which were in their favour, were interlaced with an elaborate system of trenches, dugouts and tunnels heavily protected by barbed wire and machine guns, and defended from a distance by German artillery. They had even installed electric lights, a telephone exchange, and a light railway to maintain supplies of ammunition. All previous attempts to take the Ridge had failed.

Canadian commanders, however, had learned well the bitter lessons of assault by vulnerable infantry. This time the preparation was elaborate and the planning thorough. Engineers dug great tunnels into the Ridge; roads and light railways were built; signals and supplies were ready. The operation was to be supported by a large concentration of heavy guns and howitzers, and full artillery. The men too were fully prepared. The area was simulated behind the lines and troops practiced their roles until every man was familiar with the ground and the tactics expected of him.

Preliminary bombardment, designed to conceal the exact time and extent of the attack, began on 20 March. It was intensified from 2 April with such crushing blows that the enemy called the period "the week of suffering". On the night of 8 April all was ready and the infantry moved to the prepared forward positions.

The attack began at dawn on Easter Monday, 9 April. All four divisions of the Canadian Corps - moving forward together for the first time - swept up the Ridge in the midst of driving wind, snow and sleet. Preceded by a perfectly timed artillery barrage the Canadians advanced. By mid-afternoon the Canadian Divisions were in command of the whole crest of the Ridge with the exception of two features known as Hill 145 and the Pimple. Three days later these too were taken.

The victory at Vimy Ridge is celebrated as a national coming of age. For the first time Canadians attacked together and triumphed together. Four Canadians won the Victoria Cross and King George V knighted Major-General Arthur Currie, commander of the 1st Division, on the battlefield.

Later in the summer the Canadian Corps received its first Canadian commander when Sir Arthur Currie was promoted to Lieutenant General and succeeded Sir Julian Byng. A businessman from British Columbia, Currie, with only Canadian Militia background, won the high esteem of professionals and rose from the rank of private to commander of the whole Canadian army corps. It was a remarkable achievement.

Following the ceremony a reception was held in the town of Vimy where we had a chance to meet and discuss old times with a few of the Canadian representatives, Comrades and friends. In particular Smokey Smith who is a delightful person to talk with and Canada's only living Victoria Cross winner. Wally Smith, Dominion Chairman, who was there representing our Dominion President and Dominion Command. Dale Lamoureux who was representing the National Aboriginal Veterans Association but as always the event was soon over and we had to depart.

When Wally got home he sent a nice letter to the Zone Commander acknowledging our presence at these ceremonies. I would like to share a couple of paragraphs with you since we have in the past sometimes bitched about whether anyone knows if we are there or not.

"I do want to thank you and your Zone Colour Party for being there and showing the Legion Flag (Banners). I don't recall seeing representatives from other Veterans organizations, so I think that is a plus for the Royal Canadian Legion.

Your presence at the 85th Battalion Memorial Re-dedication, at Ypres, at the Internment Services for the Links and Winks Privates Beaudry and Barritt and then at Vimy gave my morale a boost and made me very proud of our R.C.L. Zone Germany.

Please thank all the members of your Colour Party and extend my very best wishes and thanks to each and every one of them".

On Monday 05 November after a long week was a travel day home.

On Saturday 10 November the Zone Commander and Deputy Zone Commander once again traveled to Ypres to attend and lay a wreath on behalf of Canada on the 11 November at the annual Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Menin Gate.

The ceremony commenced with a church service at St. George's Church after which the procession marched to the Menin Gate. The ceremony was well attended by dignitaries, Veterans, Bands, Honour Guards, Colour Party from the Royal British Legion and many spectators. The highlight of the ceremony had to be the Act of Remembrance recited by a 106-year-old Veteran of the First World War as thousands of poppies floated down from the three openings in the ceiling of the structure. Following the ceremony we were met by Iris & Daniel Van Landschoot and family and Steve Douglas of the Maple Leaf Legacy Project. We first went to the Royal British Legion but it was so packed that there wasen't even standing room so we went to a local pub for a couple of delightful hours. It would have been nice to spend more time with our friends but the Zone Commander had duties to preform at Branch 003 in Geilenkirchen.

Bidding farewell to our friends until next year we left Ypres at approximately 1500 hours and drove to Geilenkirchen to visit Branch 003 where we met two of our Dutch friends Jues (Joe) Van Dyk and Erik Jockzc and the Zone Commander initiated them into our Legion family. We spent the rest of the evening with our comrades from Branch 003 who had returned from their Branch Remembrance Day Ceremony at the Canadian War Cemetery in Groesbeek, The Netherlands. The next morning we left for home.

Rank	Name	Age	Buried or Missing & Commemorated
L/Sgt	Barton, Rees	23	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
L/Sgt	Brock, Eric	25	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Spr.	Cann, A.R.(Died of wounds 21 Oct)	22	Schoonselhof Cemetery Antwerp, Belgium
Spr.	Carr, Edward	29	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Spr.	Creech, William	28	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Drv.	Hammond, Paul Ernst	24	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Drv.	King, William James	20	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Spr.	Lawson, James	24	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Spr.	Lewis, H.G. (Died of wounds 21 Oct)	29	Burgen-Op-Zoom, The Netherlands
Drv.	Malcolm, W. (Died of wounds 21 Oct)	20	Schoonselhof Cemetery Antwerp, Belgium
Spr.	Martin, James	33	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Spr.	Maybee, James Arthur	35	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Drv.	Miers, H. (Died of wounds 25 Oct)	33	Schoonselhof Cemetery Antwerp, Belgium
Drv.	Nisbet, Peter Samuel	30	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
L/Sgt	Redrup, Arthur	25	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Spr.	Rennie, Donald William	35	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Spr.	Shepherd-Singleton, H.	21	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Spr.	Smith Allan	20	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Spr.	Smith, Harry	20	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Spr.	Thompson, Cyrle	20	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Spr	Tuft, Edward	20	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Spr.	Waiby, William	28	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
L/Sgt	Weston	21	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Spr.	Wilson, Charles J.	20	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Spr	Wilson, James	34	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Spr.	Wittington, Jack Victor	24	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Spr.	Young, William Edward	20	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands

Rank	Name	Age	Buried or Missing & Commemorated
Pte.	Bateman, Albert J.	23	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Pte.	Barbour, Victor	25	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Pte.	Biggin, Eric	---	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Pte.	Boatman, Leonard Joseph	26	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Pte.	Carlson, Clifford Emil	23	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Cpl.	Larkin, Edwin Edward	24	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Pte.	O'Connor, Bernard Joseph	...	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Pte.	Rulston, Lome Edgar	23	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Pte.	Sandison, Walter John	25	Missing, Memorial at Groesbeek, The Netherlands
Pte.	Wall, Francis Henry	23	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium

Rank	Name	Age	Buried or Missing & Commemorated
Gnr.	Everett, Edward B.G.	19	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
Gnr	Rider, William	19	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium
LBdr	Sutherill, Kenneth L.	22	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium

Rank	Name	Age	Buried or Missing & Commemorated
Cfn.	Cameron, William	34	Canadian War Cemetery Adagem, Belgium


Private Charles Beaudry from Dalhousie, New Brunswick		Private George Robert Barritt from Runciman, Saskatchewan