30 Days to Vimy 100

It's one month ahead of the ceremony until our Fields Of Fire Tours group of 200 stands together at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.  This group comprises gunners and signallers from across Canada - Regular Army and Reservists, serving and retired, and many spouses and partners too.  The serving soldiers were selected by their units to represent them at this centenary commemoration.  Our Vimy 100 tickets have arrived allowing us access to this special event.  All that's left to do is pack and hope for good weather.  We will blog regularly to share our experiences as the tour unfolds.

1 of the 50,000 tickets distributed to Canadians to attend the Canadian National Memorial Commemoration Ceremony on April 9th, 2017.

Artillery Monument at Thelus

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

Not All Gators Have Teeth: Tracked Landing Vehicle

Military history is everywhere for me now that I travel with Dave.  On our way to our closest corner store in Dunedin, Florida, Dave stopped halfway across a pedestrian crossing to read a Historical Society of Dunedin's plaque, commemorating a little known event in the town's local history.  The Tracked Landing Vehicle was designed and manufactured in Dunedin in the late 1930s.  Named the Alligator, a prototype was tested on a beach just up the road from where we spend our Florida vacations. A quick search for images and information about this history adds even more colour to our knowledge of our favourite winter refuge.  The link below will reveal this interesting Second World War story.

http://pinellasnewsboy.com/2009/07/05/wwii-marine-corps-amphibious-vehicle-was-developed-in-dunedin/

Alligator prototype testing on the beach in Dunedin, Florida

Plaque at Palm Boulevard, Dunedin