Vimy Ridge

The two 27 - metre pylons, made by a specific limestone taken from an ancient Roman quarry of modern day Croatia, stands proudly complete with over 20 emblamatic statues representing the Canadian values of the time. The Breaking of the Sword, the Spirit of Sacrifices, Mourning of the Parents, Sympathy of the Canadians for the Helpless, and most famously, Mother Canada mourning her dead. Inscribed along the lumoinous walls are inscribed the 11, 285 names of the Canadians killed without a proper burial in France during the First World War.

When the monument was unveiled by King Edward VIII in 1936, 11 years after the start of construction, it was greeted in front of a crowd of 100,000 people including 6,000 Canadian War Veterans.

See archival images of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial from 1936, the year it was dedicated.