How Was The 90th Anniversary Of The Battle Of Vimy Ridge Commemorated?
The 90th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge–a decisive battle during World War I, where Canadian and British forces defeated the German army–took place on April 9, 2007 in France. Canada was represented by Queen Elizabeth II, who was introduced to the assembled crowd as the “Queen of Canada,” as well as Prince Philip, who came dressed in the Royal Canadian Regiment ‘s uniform, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The French Republic was represented by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. The 90th anniversary of Vimy Ridge involved the restoration of the Vimy War Memorial, completed in 1936, and its rededication by the Queen. The Queen spoke in English and French, as did Prime Minister Harper, who called the Battle of Vimy Ridge “Canada’s creation story.” According to the BBC’s estimates, more than half of the assembled crowd was Canadian, including over a thousand high school students from every province, who came to the memorial as part of school trips. There was some d
