Remembrance Day - France

Today we took a trip to France for Remembrance Day. Our first stop was to the Guillemont Road Cemetery near Guillemont, France. This British Commonwealth Cemetery holds over 700 WWI fallen from the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Liz's Great-Great-Uncle Walter Huggins was a Private in the 9th Battalion of the Norfolk Regiment. He died September 15th, 1916 near Guillemont. The girls laid a wreath on his headstone and Tori created a paper wreath in which they all signed. At 11 am we paused for a moment of silence to honour the fallen. After walking around the cemetery we were getting ready to head to our next stop when we noticed a group of people walking down the road and one person was holding a French flag. We waited to see what they were going to do. As they came by the Mayor of Guillemont asked if we would like to participate in the precession. We joined in and watched as two children placed a bouquet at the head of the cemetery. Following this ceremony the Mayor asked us why we had come to the cemetery and Liz mentioned about her Uncle. He asked if we wanted to get a picture by his graveside. After the picture we were invited to follow them back to their town church. Outside of the church there were two monuments. One was for the 16th Irish Regiment and the other for the fallen from Guillemont. Bouquets were placed by each of these. Following the ceremony we were invited to view the church and then to join in a toast at the town hall. Champagne and bread was served and we all toasted the fallen. We stayed for about another half hour before heading to our next stop. The Mayor and deputy invited us back for next year's Remembrance Day celebration. On our way to the our next stop we found a monument to the Newfoundland Regiment. A caribou on a ridge was pointing towards the front. We made a momentary stop to view the monument. Next stop was Vimy Ridge. Vimy Ridge is one of the largest military monuments in the world. It is dedicated to all of the fallen Canadians who do not have grave sites. The two spires represent Canada and France and there are various figures representing ideals such as Mother Canada weeping, faith, peace, and justice. On our way to the monument we met a Canadian college student who was on a four-month volunteer trip at the monument. She gave us a ride around the monument and described all of the finer points of the monument. After our tour we walked up and took a closer look at this magnificent tribute. Another wonderful day exploring a bit of history and paying tribute to those who gave of themselves so that we can all be free.