Vimy Memorial

Canadian National Vimy Memorial Mémorial national du Canada à Vimy
Veterans Affairs Canada Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Walter Allward's memorial design submission
For First World War Canadian dead and missing, presumed dead, in France.
Unveiled	26 July 1936 By King Edward VIII
Location	Coordinates: 50°22′46″N 02°46′25″E / 50.37944°N 2.77361°E / 50.37944; 2.77361 near Vimy, Pas-de-Calais, France
Designed by	Walter Seymour Allward
Total commemorated	11,169
English: To the valour of their countrymen in the Great War and in memory of their sixty thousand dead this monument is raised by the people of Canada. French: À la vaillance de ses fils pendant la Grande Guerre et en mémoire de ses soixante mille morts, le peuple canadien a élevé ce monument.
Statistics source: Cemetery Details. Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
National Historic Site of Canada
Official name	Vimy Ridge National Historic Site of Canada
Designated	1996

Statistics source: Cemetery Details. Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a memorial site in France dedicated to the memory of Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the First World War. It also serves as the place of commemoration for First World War Canadian soldiers killed or presumed dead in France who have no known grave. The monument is the centrepiece of a 100-hectare (250-acre) preserved battlefield park that encompasses a portion of the ground over which the Canadian Corps made their assault during the initial Battle of Vimy Ridge offensive of the Battle of Arras.

The Battle of Vimy Ridge was the first occasion on which all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force participated in a battle as a cohesive formation, and it became a Canadian national symbol of achievement and sacrifice. France ceded to Canada perpetual use of a portion of land on Vimy Ridge on the understanding that Canada use the land to establish a battlefield park and memorial. Wartime tunnels, trenches, craters, and unexploded munitions still honeycomb the grounds of the site, which remains largely closed off for reasons of public safety. Along with preserved trench lines, several other memorials and cemeteries are contained within the park.

The memorial took designer Walter Seymour Allward 11 years to see built. King Edward VIII unveiled it on 26 July 1936 in the presence of French President Albert Lebrun and more than 50,000 Canadian and French veterans and their families. Following an extensive multi-year restoration, Queen Elizabeth II re-dedicated the monument on 9 April 2007 at a ceremony commemorating the 90th anniversary of the battle. The site is maintained by Veterans Affairs Canada. This Vimy Memorial and the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial are the only two National Historic Sites of Canada outside of Canada.