June 2016
As a part of the 100th anniversary of CFB Borden, the base unveiled the Borden Legacy Monument, built as a lasting monument to the sacrifices of Canadian soldiers who trained at Camp Borden and died in the European battlefields.
The monument features two black granite walls, one that contains an urn filled with soil from the battlefield of Vimy Ridge, site of the historic Canadian fought battle in April 1917. The Vimy soil represents the DNA of Canadian soldiers killed in the battle.
The statue of a First World War bugler stands beside the walls and a berm directly behind the granite walls is meant to represent Vimy Ridge itself.
The Battle of Vimy Ridge was the first time all 4 divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force fought together as a unified Corps. The battle saw 3600 Canadians killed, 7000 wounded. Four Canadian soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross for actions in the battle:
Private William Johnstone Milne of the 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion.
Lance-Sergeant Ellis Wellwood Sifton of the 18th (Western Ontario) Battalion.
Private John George Pattison of the 50th (Calgary) Battalion.
Captain Thain Wendell MacDowell of the 38th (Ottawa) Battalion.
Only MacDowell and Pattison would survive the battle, but only Pattison would survive the war. Milne’s body was never found.
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- Urn containing sacred soil from the battlefield, representing the DNA of Canadian soldiers killed at Vimy Ridge, embedded in the memorial wall, April 2017. Photo: Bruce Forsyth.
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- Urn containing sacred soil from the battlefield, representing the DNA of Canadian soldiers killed at Vimy Ridge, embedded in the memorial wall, April 2017. Photo: Bruce Forsyth.
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- A second urn containing sacred soil from the battlefield, representing the DNA of Canadian soldiers killed at Vimy Ridge, embedded in a memorial wall beside the cenotaph in Barrie, Ontario, June 2018. Photo: Bruce Forsyth.
