Badge of remembrance: The 1936 pilgrimage to Vimy
STORY BY RICHARD FOOT
On July 16, 1936, five passenger ships steamed out of Montreal harbour and down the St. Lawrence. They were escorted by the HMCS Saguenay and cheered by throngs of noisy well-wishers on shore.
On board were roughly 6,400 Canadian “pilgrims” making the nine-day journey to France for the highly anticipated unveiling of the new Canadian National Vimy Memorial. On the first day of the voyage, each pilgrim received a commemorative silver badge resembling a medal to be proudly worn on their chests throughout the journey to France and back.
In the 90 years since that journey, the great memorial itself, with its high white towers, brooding figures and broad walls carved with the names of Canadian Great War soldiers missing or presumed dead, has come to embody the spirit of Canada’s wartime memory and sacrifice. And yet, one might argue that another object of that time, quite humble and mostly forgotten, more profoundly animates Canadian remembrance—the Vimy Pilgrimage Medal.
READ MORE
.jpeg?1775065489479)
Royal Canadian Legion, US Branch #25 