legion lowers flag to honour vimy ridge day, death of prince philip by Jason G. Antonio, Moose Jaw Express
Moose Jaw’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch 59 lowered its flag to half-staff this year to honour the 104th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the death of Prince Philip. This is the fourth year in a row that legions all across Canada have lowered their flags to honour the important event, which took place April 9 to 12, 1917 and involved 100,000 Canadians fighting all together for the first time in the First World War. “On the morning of April 9, 1917, soldiers from all four divisions of the Canadian Corps stormed the ridge in France for four days of brutal battle against the German forces,” the legion’s Dominion Command tweeted. “The capture of Vimy was a defining moment for Canada, but it came at a great cost. Almost 3,600 Canadian soldiers lost their lives and over seven thousand were wounded. “Join us as we honour and remember those who served and sacrificed on this Vimy Ridge Day. #CanadaRemembers.” Of the battalions that fought at Vimy Ridge, four were from Saskatchewan: the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles, the 5th Battalion, the 28th Battalion and the 46th Battalion. Over subsequent years, the first two have evolved into the North Saskatchewan Regiment (based in Saskatoon); the 28th into the
Moose Jaw's legion branch 59 has lowered its flag to honour the 104th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the recent death of Prince Philip. Photo by Jason G. Antonio
Royal Regina Rifles; and the 46th into the Saskatchewan Dragoons (based in Moose Jaw). According to the book For All We Have and Are: Regina and the Experience of the Great War, by retired history professor James Pitsula, “The battle marked a transformation in Canada’s understanding of itself. The country was still British, but not as British as it had been before the war. The soldiers sensed this. “They had come from all parts of Canada and had enlisted for various and diverse reasons … But, when they journeyed overseas and fought together as the Canadian Corps, something unusual and unexpected happened. They discovered who they were, and in so doing helped other Canadians discover who they were too.”
Prince Philip died on April 9th at age 99. Photo by AP
Prince Philip This year, the legion also lowered its flag to honour the death of Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, Canada’s head of state. Philip, 99, had been the Queen’s husband for 73 years and was the longest-serving royal consort in British history. The Duke of Edinburgh was born on June 10, 1921, on the island of Corfu near Greece. He later joined the Royal Naval College in 1939 and served in the Royal Navy during the
Second World War. Philip and the Queen married on Nov. 20, 1947, in Westminster Abbey. Six kings and seven queens attended the ceremony. He eventually said farewell to his naval career in July 1951, describing his days as commander of the frigate Magpie as the “happiest days of my sailor life.” The prince and the Queen toured Canada many times over seven decades, including Moose Jaw several times.
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