Valour at Vimy Ridge: Canadian Heroes of World War 1

by Douglas, Tom

• ISBN13: 9781554392414
• ISBN10: 1554392411
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-04-02
• Publisher: Altitude Pub Canada Ltd

Summary

A defining moment in Canadian military history. A much-needed Allied victory. A show of valour and heroism. The battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917 saw Canadian troops storm a strategic 14-kilometre long escarpment that was believed to be impregnable. This was the first time in the nation's history that a corps-sized formation fought together as a unit under its own meticulous planning. Canadian troops persevered under heavy fire to take the ridge, demonstrating incredible discipline and bravery. The battle became a symbol of sacrifice for the young nation and a turning point in its role in the global theatre of war.

Author Biography

Tom Douglas is the author of three other best-selling books of military history in the Amazing Stories series ù Canadian Spies, D-Day, and Great Canadian War Heroes. As an elementary school teacher, Tom served with DND Schools Overseas in Metz, France. During that posting, he visited numerous Canadian battle sites and cemeteries in Europe. He left teaching to become a reporter with his hometown newspaper, the Sault Daily Star, and has worked in communications ever since. As a reporter, he was selected by DND to tour Canadian bases in Europe on two occasions.After working with The Canadian Press, and serving as publisher/owner of a weekly newspaper in Queensland, Australia, Tom was hired as communications consultant to the Honourable Bennett Campbell, Minister of Veterans Affairs, in Ottawa.He travelled with the minister and groups of World War I, World War II, and Korean War veterans on several pilgrimages involving such battle sites as Vimy Ridge, Normandy, Brittany, Rome, and Seoul. He was also part of a Canadian delegation that was invited by French President Francois Mitterrand to attend Remembrance Day services at the Arc de Triomphe.Tom accompanied Veterans Affairs Minister Campbell to Europe for the 40th anniversary of D-Day in 1984. They took two side trips - one to unveil a plaque in Rome in honour of the Canada/US Special Services force that liberated the Eternal City, the other to Brittany to honour French-Canadian soldiers who had parachuted into occupied France to set up an escape network for Allied personnel. This latter experience was the inspiration for the Canadian Spies book.Tom and his wife, Gail, also an author with the Amazing Stories series, organized a special 50th anniversary D-Day voyage to Normandy on the Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1994. The ship was entirely taken over by D-Day veterans, their relatives, and military historians, who were entertained on board by comedian Bob Hope, World War II songstress Vera Lynn, television anchorman Walter Cronkite, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. The following year, Tom led a group of Canadian veterans and their relatives on a five-country bus tour of Europe as part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe (VE Day).In June 2004, Tom attended the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion in Normandy as an accredited journalist. He was one of six Canadian journalists selected by Veterans Affairs Canada in May 2005 to be part of the official pilgrimage to Holland for the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands. He returned to Holland in December of that year with his son James, a videographer, to film a tribute to the close ties between Canada and Holland stemming from Canada's assistance in the Dutch war effort in World War II. Tom and James produced a DVD about their trip entitled The Tulip and the Maple Leaf.On Labour Day 2004, Tom was invited to sign copies of his first two books during the closing ceremonies for the old Canadian War Museum on Sussex Drive in Ottawa. As part of his research for this current book, Tom visited the Vimy Memorial site in October 2006 and interviewed the man largely responsible for its restoration, Peter Craven.Tom has written speeches for senior officials of DND and Veterans Affairs Canada. He has also interviewed veterans as the basis for numerous news articles that have been distributed on the Veterans Affairs' website and/or to newspapers across Canada. He currently serves as copy editor of the Canadian Military Journal and has provided that official publication of the Department of National Defence with written articles and book reviews. Tom is a member of Branch 114 (Oakville), Royal Canadian Legion, and the Dominion Institute's Memory Project.