ESTEVAN - The South East Military Museum invites the community to join them for the 105th Anniversary Vimy Remembered presentation.
After two years of a forced break, Craig Bird, the curator and president of the museum, will once again take the public over to the 1917 battlefields of France to learn about the local contributions and southeast soldiers who fought in the Great War. The presentation will take place on April 9 at 10 a.m. at the Estevan Royal Canadian Legion Hall.
"We thought it would be a good time to get things going. And of course, we throw the southeast Saskatchewan angle into Vimy. Everybody heard the stories about the battle of Vimy Ridge over the years, so it's nice to add some local content and show people a little bit about military history here in the southeast part of the province and give them some ideas," Bird said.
"We got a good program going this year and have some surprises as well. When you do some research, it's nice to find a little nugget of knowledge there. And this year, I found some pretty good information related to the southeast and then incorporated it into the Vimy program for this year. So, it'll be formative, and it's got some local content, so it should be good."
Before the pandemic, Vimy presentations were becoming an Estevan tradition, and many people from the area had a chance to learn about the battle between the Canadian and German troops. Bird said that while presentations remind the public of the general details about the event, each year they are different, giving new nuances and perspectives.
"The presentations that I've been doing are different each year. So even though you've come maybe two years ago, or longer, the presentation is different than the previous ones. So you will get something out of it. Some of it is going to be a little bit of a repeat, but there's a lot of southeast content in it, so we'll learn something and take away something hopefully," Bird said.
The presentation will go for about two hours. It will be followed by a soup and sandwich lunch available for purchase, with money going to support the legion.
Guests will also have a chance to tour the part of the museum's collection displayed at the legion, and there will also be an opportunity to go to the out-of-town location to see the rest of the exhibits.
"We're going to open the museum up. We have some new displays and things that we've changed around with the museum, so you can get an idea of some of the new things that we've put on display at the legion museum part," Bird said. "And then if people want to travel up to the second part, which is just north of the city, the second part of the museum will be open as well. We've added some things and changed some things around out there as well, so people can have a look.
“I'll be out there to give some tours and explain some of the things that we have in the museum in the afternoon."
Bird said that the presentations share a lot of knowledge, most of which people won't be able to find anywhere else and they also help preserve this knowledge by passing it onto new generations of southeast Saskatchewan residents.
"Vimy is one of those things that as we're getting farther along in time - it's been 105 years since that battle – it's falling out of our normal realm of things. We don't have any World War One veterans left; we're sorely lacking on World War Two veterans, they seem to be leaving us faster and faster as they get older. All of that history is just starting to wane in the background. And I think it's important that we keep that history alive," Bird said.
"And the importance of my presentation is we're not just talking about Vimy Ridge, we're giving the local spin, we're talking about local people, local soldiers, and having that aspect of what people in the community and the surrounding areas in the southeast here took part in and had a part of in this pivotal moment in Canadian history.
“So even if you've come to one or you know about Vimy Ridge, you're going to get some more information about that. But you're also going to learn about the southeast Saskatchewan contribution and maybe learn about some relatives of people that you know in the community."
No registration is needed. If someone plans to bring in a larger group, Bird asked to let him know in advance through the South East Military Museum Facebook page, so they have everything prepared.
