Readers may have drunk their fill of the history of the Battle of Vimy Ridge but here are two more accounts that are well worth another taste. The first is from a Heritage Fairs Alumnus and the second is a news report on a Vimy app created by students at an Ontario high school.
Kamloops student Julie recently returned from living near Vimy for three months. In her post on the Heritage Fairs Alumni page Julie recounts the emotional experience as a guest of honour at a ceremony at Farbus near the battle site and her tour of the town, surrounding forest, and memorial. She also adds interesting descriptions of the nursing care for the wounded and dying and the role of dogs in the war. On the same page you can also read several other engaging posts by members of the Alumni Team.
As explained in this tv news report , the content and creation of the Vimy app was the result of dedicated research by dozens of history and computer science students guided by teacher Blake Seward. They were also aided by other students from more than a 100 schools across the country.
The students’ research centred on the history of the close to 4000 men who died in the battle. However, the app has everything from 3D renderings of equipment and weapons to maps of where soldiers in the battle are buried today.
According to Seward, “What really brought this project to life for some of the history students was the opportunity to speak with descendants of some of the soldiers they were researching.”
Student Brynne Allan spoke with the grand daughter of Harry Cheeseman, a Lethbridge man killed at Vimy Ridge. “She actually sent me some photos that they had… I think she was just really really grateful that people from my generation actually wanted to know what happened.”
The Vimy Ridge app is free for anyone to download from the i-store.
Lieutenant Governor of BC, The Honourable Judith Guichon, OBC