"Année du Canada" dans une ville française

A few weeks ago, we flew across the country to the city of Lille that is located very near the Belgium border.  This was the only trip during our year in Europe that we had planned well in advance.

In my Grade Thirteen (an eighties thing in Ontario) English Literature class, we studied Timothy Findlay's "The Wars". This read made an impression on me and when it was time to for me to complete an end-of-novel project, I felt pretty motivated to learn more about this time in Canada's history.  Luckily, I had a fair collection of resources right in my own home, a major score in pre-internet days, as the First World War had been an interest of my Dad's for as long as I could remember. So, I not only had his expertise, but also a book collection and a two-album record set with recordings of speeches and songs from the Great War which I made a large part of my project. I remember being very pleased when, after my presentation, my teacher, Ms. Scott, asked to borrow the albums to record a copy for her husband.

Since then, I have maintained an interest in the First World War and I had very much wanted to visit some of the battlefields where Canadians had fought on our return to France.  It was Barry who first discovered that there was a new visitor's centre that was to open at the Vimy Memorial to mark the 100th anniversary of this battle.  So, April 2017 seemed like a meaningful time to make this trip to Northern France and we made the commitment by booking our hotel and rental car in April 2016.

Our first stop was the city of Lille.  Along with the slight drop in temperature and the change in architecture, it was also evident we had left the south of France by the drink of choice among the locals enjoying the last of the evening light;  robust pints of beer crowded tables instead of wine glasses of rosé.

The picturesque Clock Tower at the Chambre de Commerce in Lille.

After a brief overnight stay in Lille, we rented a car and drove to the city of Arras which was to be our base for the next few days. Lily has remarked on several occasions that you just don't see many Canadian flags in France.  Well, we were about to find Lily what she had been missing!  In Arras, we saw Canadian flags in many of the shop windows.  As well, we saw large groups of Canadian students decked out in their Vimy 100 matching jackets and we popped into a building off of one of the city's large Flemish-styled squares that had a room converted into the Canadian visitor's headquarters for the week-end.

In front of Arras' city hall that also houses their tourist information office 

A large poppy memorial made up of many notes of gratitude displayed in Arras' Place des Héros.  Prime Minister Trudeau and President Hollande added their two circles the day after our visit.

Picking up some souvenirs in the Grande Place before heading into the Vimy 100 Canadian Information Centre in the square.

The girls were beginning to realize that they were part of something special at the Canadian Vimy Visitors Headquarters in Arras.  They were very interested in adding a pin to a Canadian map to represent their hometown.

On the eve of the big Vimy commemoration, we, not surprisingly, couldn't get up to the memorial site.  We did, however, find ourselves in the town of Givenchy-en-Gohelle that is situated just below the now wooded side of  Hill 145, the highest point of the Vimy Ridge.  Driving into town, we heard some music coming from the city square so thought we would stop and have a look around.  This is the sign we pulled up beside while parking the car.

"Without their courage, we would not be here.  Thank-you."

Many Canadian flags were flying in front of town hall.

We saw quite a few of these about town.

It was a crowd of locals, many wearing red...

and in fact, most of the school children were wearing red t-shirts with the below emblem:

The Year of Canada.

Unknowingly, we had stumbled upon the town's 100-year anniversary celebrations of the victory at Vimy Ridge.

The Town Hall schedule of events I found later on their website.

At one point, there were three 3.5 metres tall giant puppets dancing.  It was only later that I fully understood their significance.  In this area of France, it is an ancient tradition for each town to create a "géant" (giant) in the image of a local hero.  Before April 8, 2017, Givenchy-en-Gohelle was giantless.  The giant puppet above, "La Géante Marie de la Motte", was borrowed from a neighbouring village to help unveil the town's brand new giant!

And, presenting Givenchy-en-Gohelle's giant hero "John", who is dressed in the Canadian First World War soldier's uniform, This giant honours Private John Arsenault, a coal miner from Sidney, Nova Scotia who, as part of the 85th Battalion, fought and died on April 9, 1917 in the Battle of Vimy Ridge that liberated this town from German occupation.

A photograph of John Arsenault.

The mayor of the town, Pierre Senechal, gave a speech expressing the gratitude this town still feels for the sacrifices made by the Canadian soldiers a century ago.  Afterwards, a band played both "Oh Canada" and "La Marseillaise".  It was really quite moving.

The town has renamed a street after the 85th Battalion. This street was chosen, as explained by the mayor, because it is used daily by the children on their way to school and would help preserve this history for future generations.

We purchased a special bottle of beer at these celebrations!

The big day at the Vimy Memorial was still to come for us, but we already felt very fortunate to have serendipitously stumbled upon one of the most important afternoons in Givenchy-en-Gohelle's année du Canada.

And, to top it all off, Barry entered into a friendly conversation with a local that made for a memorable moment.  The Frenchman explained that he was an amateur archaeologist and had a gift that he wanted to give to a Canadian. He showed Barry a one hundred-year-old bullet from a British rifle that he had found in a farmer's field and then gave it to him as a gift.

Having a closer look at Barry's newly acquired WW1 bullet.

We drove back to Arras feeling very excited about the next day's event.