Vimy Ridge - April 2007

Background to the Vimy Ridge Rededication Ceremony

Planning for our trip to the Vimy Ridge Rededication ceremony began over a year ago, and not long after I returned from a Battlefield tour of Europe in late 2005. The tour group I was with visited the Vimy memorial, but at the time it was still shrouded in scaffolding and tarps while work on the massive restoration project continued.

My desire to see the finished memorial and to share in the rededication ceremony had only increased during the time I'd spent researching the war history of my gr-granduncle, Thomas H. Walker, who I learned had fought at Vimy Ridge as well as several other famous Canadian battles of WW1. He survived the war.

I had also shared my desire to honour Thomas Walker's memory with his nephew in Scotland, who was also named after his uncle, and who had inherited his medals after the war. Upon hearing of my interest to travel to France for the occasion of the Rededication ceremony, Tom Walker surprised me with a remarkable offer. He said he would bequeath to me what may have been among his most valuable possessions, his uncle's war memorabilia. Needless to say I was extremely moved by this generosity, and made plans to visit Tom Walker in Scotland before my trip to France.

In early April I flew to Scotland where I spent a very pleasant three days with Tom Walker, celebrating his 80th birthday with him and tromping around old churchyards where some of our ancient ancestors are remembered. Tom did as he had promised, and offered me his uncles medals, among them, his D.C.M.

Some years prior I had found the actual event in the War Diaries of the 1st Bn C.M.G.C., which described the battle where Thomas H. Walker had won the Distinguished Conduct Medal. I gave Tom a copy of the War Diary account, which he considered a fair trade, although I think I got the better of it. In addition to the medals, Tom gave me his uncle's original leather dog tag that he would have worn during the last two years of the war, and his compass, which was built like a Swiss watch, and was dated 1915.

After our farewell's, I flew to London where my daughter, Sarah met me the following day. We spent one more day in London, which happened to be her 18th birthday, and then we traveled together to France to spend a week touring the ancient battlefields where our forefathers had fought in such bitter conflicts.

So I carried with me a distinct and tangible part of my gr-granduncle's memory on this trip, to the sites of all three major battles that he fought in, the 2nd Battle of Ypres, Vimy Ridge and the storming of the Drocourt-Queant Line in 1918 where he won the D.C.M. And most importantly of all, I had my daughter with me to share in this moving experience. It was a remarkable adventure for both of us, and one that we will fondly remember for a long time. Ian Watson, May 2007