CORNWALL – Two oak tree saplings – decedents of an oak tree on Vimy Ridge in northern France – have been planted in Legion Memorial Park.
The English oaks were specially grown for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge to remember those that fought in the First World War.
The city purchased them through the Vimy Oaks Legacy program.
The Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917 was considered a defining moment in Canadian history as our troops overcame great odds to capture the ridge.
The battle cost some 10,600 soldiers their lives.
In 1919, a lieutenant sent home some acorns from a tree on the battlefield, which have since grown into The Vimy Oaks in southwestern Ontario.
The Vimy Oaks Legacy Corporation decided three years ago to repatriate offspring of the original trees back to Vimy Ridge, where all the trees had since died.
Some of those saplings are also being planted at commemorative sites in communities across Canada, including Cornwall.