Vimy Memorial
designed by Harvey Thomas Prosser
engraved by Yves Baril (picture) and Gordon Marsh (lettering)
based on the Walter S Allward sculpture
The Vimy Memorial was unveiled in July 1936, on 100 ha of land on Vimy Ridge that was granted to Canada by France to be used 'in perpetuity' as a memorial park with a memorial dedicated to Canadian war dead. The Battle of Vimy Ridge was the first time that all four division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force participated together and it became a national symbol of achievement and sacrifice. The two limestone pylons of the monument rise 125' and has many stylized figures. This stamp shows the 'Breaking of the Sword' - three young men, with one crouching and breaking his sword, meant to represent the "defeat of militarism and a general desire for peace".
"Vimy Ridge is one of Earth's altars on which Canadians sacrificed for the cause of humanity"
~ William Lyon Mackenzie King
for monuments
1 comment:
I recently bought a set of GB stamps commemorating the Great War. Included was a stamp of the Thiepal Memorial for the Somme. Your Vimy memorial is far more impressive as a stamp - you cannot see the Thiepal in any detail.
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