The Battle of Vimy Ridge helped to create a new identity for Canada on the world stage .
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troops had reached their objectives on the first day . The fourth Canadian line , on the extreme left , had the worst of it having to take on the Pimple , an extra high mound underbuilt with honeycombed tunnels . However , by April 13 , the Canadians had fully taken the ridge , including the Pimple , and the Germans had withdrawn three or four miles to set up a new position .
The Battle of Vimy Ridge helped to create a new identity for Canada on the world stage . At Vimy , Canadian soldiers earned a reputation as formidable , effective troops , and through the actions of her leaders and soldiers , Canada became seen as an independent country capable of defining its identity separate from Britain . However , that achievement came at a great cost as many Canadians were killed or wounded in the battle , and Southern Albertans were among those who fought and died at Vimy . On the Lethbridge Cenotaph are the names of over 20 men who died at Vimy , both during the battle and in working to keep the location . They left behind siblings , spouses , and children .
Southern Albertans , like other Canadians , learned of Vimy mostly from the newspaper . The battle was front page news in the April 10 , 1917 Lethbridge Herald with headlines such as : “ BRITISH FORCES DELIVER SMASHING BLOWS AT ARRAS , CANADIANS ’ BIG VICTORY IN CAPTURING THE STRONGEST DEFENCE ,” and “ VIMY RIDGE IS MOST VITAL OF HUN DEFENCES ”.
However , it took longer to learn about what happened to individual soldiers who were at Vimy . The July 13 , 1917 Lethbridge Herald carried several stories of local soldiers , such as Lt . Ches Kerr who was at that time a patient in a London Hospital because he had been gassed during the battle and was not expected to go back to France , as well as Lt . Norman Kirkham , who was in the same hospital with a “ bad arm ” and was likewise not expected to return to France . Lt . Wm . Adams , who had served as an engineer with the City of Lethbridge and as an officer with the corps of engineers , made mention that he had come through Vimy safely but “ I now wear a ribbon on my right breast to show that what I did was of some use .” Adams never mentioned what decoration he had received , but the newspaper speculated it was a military cross . Lance Corp . Nash , of Macleod , was noted as having captured two Germans during the fighting , displaying conspicuous bravery .
Perhaps one of the stranger stories involving a Lethbridgian and Vimy Ridge was the case of the lost diploma . In 1919 the Minister of Education for Alberta , George P . Smith , received the following letter from a Major Johnston of Vancouver : “ Dear Sir , --On April 10 , 1917 , I
The Battle of Vimy Ridge helped to create a new identity for Canada on the world stage .
picked up the attached diploma in the Swischen-Stellung the second line of Boche trenches captured by the Canadian corps in the Vimy Ridge battle . I am painfully aware that I should have returned it to you long ago as it may be of some value to its owner . I came across it today among some papers of mine . Would you kindly return it to its owner if it is of any value . Yours faithfully Lukin Johnston , Maj .”
The diploma was dated August 10 , 1910 , signed at Edmonton , and made out to J . Harold Hamilton . This was Sgt . Hamilton , son of W . A . Hamilton , Lethbridge ’ s first school superintendent . Harold Hamilton had enlisted with the 39th Battery , Canadian Field Artillery , in October 1915 and was sent to Europe in 1916 . He served at the front for 16 months , seeing action at Somme , Arras , Vimy Ridge , and Passchendaele . Hamilton , considering taking a commission , had requested his parents send him his diploma , which , along with his watch , was lost at Vimy Ridge .
Unfortunately , Sgt . Hamilton never learned about the return of the diploma . He survived Vimy , but not the war . In November 1917 , while serving in Belgium , he was hit by shrapnel and died later that day . Sgt . Hamilton is buried in Belgium .
After the battle , Vimy quickly became associated with bravery and duty . People wanted to remember the victory and individuals associated with it . Across Canada and in Southern Alberta several things were renamed “ Vimy ” in 1917 and in the years to follow .
Vimy Mountain , in Waterton Park , previously known as both Sheep Mountain and Goat Mountain , was renamed in 1917 .
Vimy Cleaners was operating in Lethbridge in 1919 , with James Jones listed as one of the men associated with the business . The 1916 census lists his age as 28 , and identifies his wife as Bertha and their four children as Grace ( 7 ), William ( 5 ), John ( 3 ), and David ( 1 ). The census also notes that at the time James ’ occupation was “ soldier ”. He passed away in December 1931 , and is buried in the soldiers ’ area of Mountain View Cemetery .
By the early 1920s , Douglas C . Stickley and James Lush had opened the Vimy Ridge Confectionary . Stickley signed his attestation papers in Lethbridge on November 23 , 1914 . In 1917 he returned home after being severely wounded at the front . Robert Rannard , who was later associated with the business , was born in Liverpool , England , and came to Lethbridge in 1907 . He served overseas with the 25th Battery , also having signed his attestation papers on November 23 , 1914 in Lethbridge .
There was also Vimy Hall . The 1934 Henderson Directory has it located at 208A Fifth Street South in the Piccadilly
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