Tour 7 – One day tour of the Somme 1916 Battlefields and Vimy Ridge (Canadian)

• The Newfoundland Memorial and preserved WW1 trenches

An impressive set of British and German trenches remain from the battles of the Somme. Here you will hear the tragic story of what happened to the Newfoundland Regiment on the 1^st July 1916 as we walk the battlefield and also the success here in Autumn/Winter of 1916 with the 51^st Highland Division.

• The Thiepval Memorial to the missing

The impressive Memorial to the missing stands proud on the former German Headquarters in Thiepva which contains over 72,000 names of the fallen who have no known grave, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

• Courcelette Canadian Memorial

The Canadian Corps are remembered for their valiant part in forcing the Germans back east during the Autumn of 1916. The Somme Offensive cost Canada just over 24,000 casualties but it was here that the Canadians earned a reputation as hard-hitting shock troops or latterly became known as ‘storm troopers’.

• Adanac military cemetery

This cemetery was created after the Armistice and was named Adanac (reversing the name Canada) as predominantly the war dead recovered were Canadian soldiers. Buried here is the famous Piper Richardson VC and you will hear the unique story in how he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

• The Tank Memorial

Pozieres sits on the highest point on the old Somme 1916 battlefield and was heavily fought over. 23,000 Australians became casualties in taking Pozieres heights in just under six weeks of fighting. The Canadian Corps relieved the AIF and continued to push the Germans back east along with tank support.

The debut of the tank in world history took place near here.

Leaving the Somme battlefields we head to Arras to discover the actions there in 1917.

• Vimy Ridge Interpretative Centre, preserved trenches and tunnel tour

Discover the part the Canadian Corps played to recapture the vital high ground in the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917 in the excellent Interpretative Centre.

There are daily guided tours of the preserved trenches and tunnels which give a fascinating history into the daily life of a soldier.

• Canadian National Vimy Memorial

After the war France gave Canada 100 hectares of land on Vimy Ridge as a note of gratitude for the role they played in successfully capturing the high ground and ultimately playing a vital part in winning the war.

The impressive and beautiful monument sits of the highest point of Vimy Ridge and rests on a bed of 15,000 tonnes of concrete, reinforced with hundreds of tonnes of steel. It stands as it’s highest point some 110 metres above the Douai Plain.

The memorial commemorates those 66,000 Canadians who gave their lives during the Great War of whom just under 12,000 soldiers have no known grave.

• Cabaret – Rouge military cemetery

This cemetery was begun in March 1916 and it was greatly enlarged in the years following the end of the war. Many Canadians are buried here who lost their lives in the successful capture of Vimy Ridge along with other nationalities.

In May 2000 the remains of an unknown Canadian soldier were taken from this cemetery and re-interred at the foot of the National War Memorial in Ottawa in Canada.