For our Northron friends.

The Red Ensign* stands out smartly from the Castle flagstaff today, driven, appropriately enough, by stiff, chill northern wind.

Last night, at a touch before 8PM, the Vimy Memorial Vigil started. Simply a cool idea.

The other feature of that website are pictures and stories from the survivors. If you have some time - or make some - it's worth perusing.

Such as John Affleck:

John E. Affleck Born: 1889 Location: Glascow Station,Scotland Died: 1928 Battalion: 9th Canadian Field Ambulance Webcast Tribute time: 1:30 AM EST

"April 9/ The 'push' is on. All day dressing the wounded, but going well we have taken the Ridge and many prisoners. Rush of wounded keeping up late into night. April 10/ Busy morning in dressing station April11/ I was busy in dr. station. All goes well with our army though. Fritz is retreating on a broad front. It is proving a magnificent Victory. April 12/ Took a trip over the Ridge this morning. The description wrought by our guns is beyond description. Shelled for a few minutes and I don't like it. Had my goat for sure! April 14/ Moved to Bourneville this evening, shelled heavily. We were fortunate. Received wire Ray killed. Came down to H.2 at once arriving at night. Poor Ray! And my poor Mother. April 15/ Went to Ray's H.2. He was killed instantly. Thank God. Cabled Father. April 16/ Spent the day searching for any record of Ray's burial also searching the Ridge for his body without success. Back home in evening weary and heart-sore.
John Affleck's diary. His brother Ray killed April 9

Or George Arnett:

George P. Arnett Born: 1874 Location: Saint John's Wood, England Died: 1964 Battalion: 78th Canadians Webcast Tribute time: 8:45 PM EST "Had a spell in the trenches - a grim life - extraordinary sounds and sights at times - not such a bad life in between scare periods when you are being shelled heavily. Went out on a night raid, about twenty of us crawled out on our bellies in nomansland . . . Got there successfully, but we were split into two parties, and owing to a blunder of one of the guides the two parties got too close together so when fire opened there was trouble and we had to return. . . . we had a rough time for a while. I got hit on the forehead on the left by a machine gun bullet hitting my rifle and then glancing up as I was laying on a bank of an old tunnel firing . . . The piece of bullet was taken out yesterday. It was not far in and no bones broken" George Arnett

...or Alfred Hill:

Alfred E. Hill Born: 1898 Location: Bruce Mines, Ontario Died: 1974 Battalion: 18th Battalion Webcast Tribute time: 1:00 AM EST

"I, his son, can remember him telling me of the day of the battle. He was designated as a scout and was first over the trenches. He said they caught the enemy completely by surprise and reached their designated objective and dug in without the Germans firing hardly a shot. Later, all hell broke loose, but being one of those resourceful prairie boys they didn't give an inch and you know who won the battle at the end of the day. Unfortunately a day or so later, a piece of shrapnel from a German cannonball exploded nearby and a fragment struck him in the left eye. He was subsequently transferred back to military hospital in England and an enucleation of his left eye was performed and he was left with one eye to see with for the remainder of his life. One of the lucky ones, I guess. I have in my possession the piece of shrapnel which was extracted from his eye and have it mounted with his picture in his military uniform in my residence."
Kenneth Hill

For all the teeth-grinding bloviating that issues forth from Brussels these days, you have to give credit to the people of Ypres. They have honoured the sacrifice of Commonwealth soldiers in Belgium for a long time:

From 11 November, 1929 the Last Post has been sounded at the Menin Gate memorial every night and in all weathers. The only exception to this was during the four years of the German occupation of Ypres from 20 May 1940 to 6 September 1944. The daily ceremony was instead continued in England at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey. On the very evening that Polish forces liberated Ypres the ceremony was resumed at the Menin Gate, in spite of the heavy fighting still going on in other parts of the town.

More about that here.

With the rapid passing of the few survivors of WWI still extant, soon the Great War will no longer be memory, but instead will be history.

So, now is the time at Castle Argghhh! when we dance: In Memoriam

I could say more about the Vimy Memorial and the battle itself - but I think I will send you to Beaverbrook's post on Vimy at the Canadian milblog The Torch, because I have nothing to add (and would have a lot less, in fact). Let a Canadian speak for his nation, rather than me. I've done my bit.