Recently, I saw this shared image on Twitter for the first time.. As we get ready for the Return to Vimy Tour, the photo is a reminder of the utter devastation of the town of Thelus. The picture depicts the unveiling of the Artillery Memorial in the village of Thelus in February 1918, while the war was still nine months from ending. It was the second monument built on the ridge by Canadians. Thelus was submitted to particulary intense bombardment by heavy artillery in the period leading up to the attack on the 9th of April. Lt-Gen Sir Arthur Currie is shown about to remove the Red Ensign to unveil the plaques on the monument in front of assembled senior gunners from the Canadian corps. The monument stands today as it did in 1918 in the center of Thelus which has now been rebuilt around it. The town of Thelus, in cooperation with Fields of Fire Tours, will host the gunners once again on the 8th of April, 2017 in a service of commemoration with villagers, school children, and representatives of the Royal Artillery and South African Artillery, which also supported the corps at Vimy.
Artillery Memorial to First World War, Thelus