As a Canadian I am extremely grateful for this very well detailed video and all of the kind words you used to describe the Canadian troops. We are taught about the importance of Vimy Ridge in school but they don't teach the fine details like you have given
Another fabulous video Steve. As a Canadian my heart swells with pride every time I see the Vimy Memorial! We came together as a nation then and god bless those valiant lads who sacrificed themselves!
thank you Steven. I visited the VIMY Memorial for the first time this past June following in the foot steps of my two great Uncles who fought there in April 1917. My Great Uncle Lt Percival Trendell fought with the Canadian 45 Battalion - 4 Canadian and my other Great Uncle Lt. Edwin Trendell fought with the 19 Battalion - 2 Canadian. Great Uncle Edwin Trendell is mentioned in dispatches several times during the morning hours of the 1st day of the attack and received a Military Cross for his actions on that date. To walk in the foot steps of the great Canadians who fought there and see what they accomplished made me very proud to be a Canadian. Unfortunately, Great Uncle Lt. Edwin Trendell did not survive the war and was killed at the Battle of Passchendaele on November 4th, 1917 while returning to Canadian lines from a night raid into the German lines. He is buried at the Ypres Reservoir Cemetery in Ypres. We must never forget the sacrifices of these men.
Thank you for watching and sharing your families memories. I will be filming Hill 70, near Loos in December, weather permitting. There is a Canadian memorial there.
Such a beautiful memorial, and I read an account of Vimy Ridge when I was 16 and how brave the Canadians are and were the account of the Battle lived with me forever, my own grandad fought and died on the messines ridge and has no known grave, his name is on the wall at Tyne Cot cemetery fabulous Film Steven, I am myself ex army.... we owe these soldiers such a debt of gratitude.....may they all rest in peace.
As a Canadian this makes me both proud and terribly sad. Even now the condition of the ground is shocking. I'm glad sheep are grazing peacefully there now. Thanks for your effort and video.
Thanks so much for bringing these amazing videos Steven. History of the finest that people can see. I enjoy your work so much. Please keep these remarkable videos coming. Thanks once again.
Thank you for watching. I am doing some more filming, weather permitting, next month, December at Hill 70 near Loos and a cemetery in Belgium for someone who’s grand father is buried there.
Thank you so much for creating these videos, I mean all of them! You have a way of explaining things, that make it really easy to understand. Your factual approach, complimented by maps and diagrams are as good as something you would see on the history channel. I am Canadian by birth, and need to see Vimy with my own eyes. Thank you so much.
Steven, fantastic video thanks. We have just returned from our second visit, and you have shed lots more light on Vimy and given us amazing aerial views for better understanding .
Thank you, Steven, not only for the comprehensive information and analysis, but for the recognition of the Canadian soldiers and General Currie and his staff. In 2015, I and my motorcycle flew over to Europe and spent 70 days travelling through western Europe. That was the 70th anniversary of the end of WW II. (Also my 70th birthday.) I visited many of the cemeteries of both world wars maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission who does a wonderful job of maintaining those sites. An additional piece of information - France ceded the land that the Vimy Ridge Memorial and associated buildings and the park land to Canada in perpetuity as thanks for their efforts to free France. The statue of the woman you mentioned is called "Canada Bereft".
Thanks, Steven------ this is a wonderful video for those of us who have never been there, like myself. The drone footage gives a whole new perspective that really allows you to understand what happened there. The number of shell holes is astounding. Canadians will really appreciate this.
I love these videos . This one as well as the Lorette Spur and the Somme series . The clarity of the filming is fantastic and your narration is first class . All of the above take me back to my trip to France . It's almost as if I am back there again . Keep up the great work and look forward to future postings. Cheers
I visited the Vimy Memorial on April 26, 2017 with my choir. (We are from Vancouver, Canada). It was such a moving experience: as we approached the memorial on foot, its sheer scale and magnificence grew with each step. We passed the pockmarked landscape, stood on the steps of the memorial, and sang together. One of our members recounted his family story: about his father and his father's twin brothers, who had fought at this site 100 years ago. We visited many awe inspiring sites on that tour, including memorials to John McCrae (poem, "In Flanders Fields"). Thank you for your video - it brings back such great and important memories!
Superb work Steven. We did the western front tour last year and whilst informative it’s difficult to get your head around the whole scale of the Great War. These videos are a superb educational tool alongside reflective for anyone who’s about to go see the battlefields or have been to confirm the learning. Superb
Just stumbled across your channel. Great job! Your drone views give the best perspective of elevation changes of the battlefields I have ever seen. Thank you for your service.
Your videos are exceptional. There is something personal in how you present these videos. It’s like a friend is showing you something important and we need to listen. The absence of noise from cars and people is very appreciated.
Thank you for teaching us about the great war. I enjoy the way you comment as you fly past the battlefileds with your drone, its very educating to see the scars of the great war from another perspective and learn about it at the same time. Many many thanks for this great work you are doing. Best regards from Norway.
Thanks Steven Upton, this was a great video (description) of the battle. I had 4 uncles in WW1 and I think 3 of them were at Vimy Ridge. It was really hard to know for sure, they didn't say very much at all of what they did.
Thank you so much for this video. I was there a couple of weeks ago and this really helped out the big picture on what the lay of the land is there. Very well done.
Thanks for sharing your film,my grandfather was in the fifth Canadien mounted rifles and fought at vimy ridge,he survived the war thankyou I hope to visit next year.
PETER PIPER there was a documentary on TV about the mines. A British RE Colonel was given permission to excavate and they found the explosives with the detonators still in place. From studying the war diaries of the tunnelling companies and comparing them with the craters he discovered the missing mines. At least two are under the motorway.
Thank you for your kind words about the Canadians, if you called for us again the great grandsons and great grandaughters of those original soldiers would March once more.
@@andersonsroad5161 This is a very sad but very true statement. As a Canadian I have to say that most (98%) of our population now is a very sad group of people who if asked would not even know what Vimy Ridge even was, but could surely tell you about the latest developements of political correctness or Transgender issues. Totally sad indeed.
I am a USN vet of the Vietnam war who has no time for political bantering. Often, I have read the awful words some obviously uneducated Americans and, Canadians have for one another. I love my country, respect to Canada! War is very complicated.
@@Joe-gu6oe Nothing complicated about the first world war and the carnage it inflicted on the commonwealth countries like Canada, Australia, New Zeeland etc.as they resisted german agression in Europe. You Americans sat back and did nothing because you wanted to see the British bled dry and also because you had so many hun immigrants. You only got involved because the hun torpedoed some of your ships. You then did the same thing in the second world war , you only got involved because the nazis declared war on you first. You're leaches. The soviet union defeated Nazi Germany not the United States.
Fantastic Steve, many thanks yet again. I personally think the Vimy Ridge Memorial is the most beautiful and thought provoking of all, especially the female figure on the rear, overlooking the plain - representing Canada weeping for her lost sons. I only found out a couple of years ago that the larger craters were in fact from underground mines - the Durand Group went to the site to make safe a very dangerous unexploded mine that was dead beneath the car park !!
I didn't get a chance to see the Vimy memorial up close as I visited in 2006 when it was being restored. Thanks for this video, it was nice to see the detail up close and to be fair, your video probably yields better detail than can be seen by the naked eye from the ground anyway. It is a beautiful memorial.
@@StevenUpton14-18 I've only recently discovered your videos but I'm really enjoying them. Planning to watch the Douaumont one at lunch time if I dont get disturbed!
Thank you for watching and I hope you enjoy your trip. If you look south from Vimy ridge you will see a church on a hill, that is Notre Dam de Lorette (see czcams.com/video/aVc9GK7K1uY/video.html). It is also worth a visit whilst in the area. I have made several short films about WW1 you may want check out my channel.
the fact the clouds were out at dawn was probably a blessing in disguise for getting drone footage from all angles, as the clouds prevented a wash of bloom and lens flares obstructing the view. That and the gloomy sky does add appropriately to the somberness of the memorial. Thanks much for the incredible videography of such spectacular places. B)
regrettably in hindsight 2020 vision the monument symbolises a galli cutter. used for castration. pharonic egyptian head pieces are of a similar design. piece from upsidedowndy australia aka new holland
it is an eye opener, went there 30 years ago, free tours, a bus of British tourists was there in the tunnels, they mentioned my wife and I are Canadian the people applauded, felt weird very proud moment.
I am a Canadian and visited the Vimy Memorial in 2011 with my children to visit the battlefields of Ypres and Vimy where my grandparents saw action. This video gave me a much greater appreciation of the scale of the blasted landscape in the surrounding countryside. Something you cannot see from the ground given such zones are too dangerous to enter. Thank you for such an interesting perspective.
We have visited twice and it is amazing, especially in the tunnels. My great grandfather left the UK in 1906 for Manitoba and joined the Canadian Army. He fought at Vimy in the 27th Btn and lost his life the following month between Acheville and Fresnoy. As an Englishman I am so proud S R Thorington was part of the birth of a nation. Thank you for the video.
awesome I love your videos when you show a map at the bigenning and then situate us with your commentary. For somebody who’s never set foot in France it is very helpful then just raw footage
Great video, very informative and helped visualize it better. Read Tim Cook's 'Vimy' last year and so glad I came across this and nice filming technique.
Really appreciate the kind words to Canadians. I get so tired of the cheap shots from Americans in that regard. We were there in both wars from the start, not when it was half over.
I love being American but I will admit we are very arrogant sometimes but I respect canadians I have met alot of very friendly canadians very educated people
You may have grazed in the wrong pasture. Many of my fellow Americans know very little true history but, some of us do. I appreciate your comment. My respect for you sir.
I did a tour of the tunnels around Vimy, many years ago. The tunnels strech for miles, even back as far as Arras and it allowed troops to reach the front line, under complete cover. I wrote this comment, just before you mentioned it!
I went down the tunnels again only last month. I asked the guide how far back behind the front lines they went and was told 1.2 kms. Not as far as Arras, but still a long way.
Well explained, thank you. I visited Vimy not long ago. The memorial is beautiful, and the battlefield impressive and worth visiting. May they all rest in peace.
I’ve been there twice, second time it was covered due to restoration. My grandfather was attached to the 137th Field Ambulance, RAMC. I cannot imagine what horrors he witnessed. His sons, my father and uncle, both became doctors, I don’t know if his experiences influenced their decision to become doctors. Sadly my grandfather died in 1955 due to an accidental gassing at his home, I never knew him as I was only 3 when he died.
Again Steven an easy to understand film of the events at Vimy and excellent drone footage. This is the first place on the Western Front I visited back in 1992 when our daughter was on a gap year as an assistant teacher in Bethune. I have been back many times and I'm always moved by the monument especially the statue of the woman that appears to be cradling a baby that is no longer there. Thank you, I know that I will watch this film many times.
I keep coming back to see this video because I have been obsessed with this memorial ever since I learned of it, and later found this beautifully done video... now I have planned a trip to visit it in spring 2021! I am so excited. I will be travelling from Vancouver, Canada. Any recommendations from anyone related to a visit? I've already considered all the different times of day, and I would most enjoy to be there with the least amount of people. Thank you again Steven for your amazing work.
Thank you for watching. If you can get there for dawn, it is very atmospheric and no one there. You will need to hang around and take in the visitor centre and book a guided trip down the tunnels.
Where are you staying? Will you have a rental car? In 2017 I stayed in Lens, and if you have a rental car pretty much any battlefield where the CEF was in action is a reasonable day-trip from there - if you can keep yourself from visiting every CWGC cemetery or monument you pass.
@@FirstLast-nk3lm When I was at university, one day in the administration office I saw a poster on the ads board about opportunities to go volunteer at places like Vimy and Beaumont Hamel, that's where all the young guides come from. When I was at Vimy in 2017 there were university aged-kids doing the tunnel tours, but they knew their script, and they took it seriously, which is enough.
Steve, got to visit this in summer 2022. My great uncles served in the artillery. Both hard of hearing. I figured it out later. Good stuff, thanks again Steve.
Steve - I do a talk on Vimy and have used some of this video clip in my talk. Thanks for it. Both my grandfathers fought at Vimy, and I have a letter written by one of them on April 10, 1917. If you'd like to see a copy of it, give me your email address and I will send. Was at Vimy in May last year, just after the centennial. Stayed in Vimy with a family that took me in. Amazing all the Canadian flags flying in the town.
I'm enjoying your vids a lot. Very informative and well documented. I just learned I have a relative memorialized on the Vimy Monument (Hazel L. Lambert, 50th Bn. CEF) who was KIA a month after surviving this battle, a few miles beyond the ridge near Lens I believe. I also have another direct relative buried at Tyne Cot.
Thanks for this video Stephen. My Great Granduncles name is on the Vimy memorial. He went missing, presumed killed, 11th August, 1918 in the village of Hallu. I hope to visit one day.
i was lucky enough to visit vimy ridge while on holiday......a truly amazing place....and as you say the view from the top shows why it was such an important site....
Thank you Steven. When I visited the sun was shining and made it hard to appreciate the monument due to the snow blinding effect of the white stone, but still a memorable experience.
I have been to Vimy twice and did not get an idea of where the 2 sides were , this video has made things clear I need to go back now and see it with this knowledge. Thanks for a Brilliant video
Having some family in Canada, what I've learned as a Brit is that at the outbreak of WW1, most Canadians had direct links back to Britain, often being British immigrants to Canada and who fought under a sense Canadian British paternal duty. What happened at vimy ridge, when all four Canadian divisions fought together and won their battle was that they forged a new Canadian identity, and found they could stand on their own two feet, alone, as Canadians.. The significance of vimy ridge to Canadians is more than just a heroic battle. The battle became the genesis of a new nations identity, where Canada came of age and fledged the British nest to independence. A symbolic battle in many ways.
Thank you Mr Steven Upton. I am very fascinated by the Great War. I am captivated even more now that I have found your channel. Always touching and awe inspiring sir. From Los Angeles CA.
Beautifully filmed Steven. The Canadians at Vimy were under the command of Julian Byng, Currie was just a division commander at that time. After Vimy, Byng was given command of a British Army, and Currie then became the Canadian Corps Commander
Greetings from Canada Steven. Thank you for your videos. I like your understated tone, it allows the facts to speak for themselves. It is horrifying to consider what these young men went through, and the suffering visited upon them and their families, but this is the only way we can avoid repeating these mistakes in the future.
Dear Stephen I just wanted to thank you for this and all your remarkable and so thoughtful videos. My grandfather was there in the Canadian Artillery. He slept through the battle having moved over a million shells prior. If you are interested I have a copy of Currie's After Action Report that he wrote in May
Thank you for making this video. Both my Great Grandfather's were involved in this campaign. I've wanted to visit for a long time. I think now I might just do that.
Thank you for the educational series. I am trying to identify who in the family served in WW1 but I believe it to be my Mum's Father (Eire/ US)and the great Uncles and Cousins of my Father's Mother (ANZAC) I actually thought those slag heaps were further removed from the battlefront but are actually only a couple of miles due north of the Monument, easily identifiable on Google's Terrain maps, and are classified as a UNESCO WHS. I never would've thought to investigate further into their significance had you not mentioned them however briefly. Thank you, again for your time and experience as I may never be able to visit these sites, in the future. Your narration is just the right pitch of reverence and introspective tone for touring these sites. Kindest regards from across the Pond.
At 11:17ish it's mentioned that the statue of the woman weeping is meant to represent relatives of the dead? It's my understanding that the statue is symbolic of Lady Canada herself bereft mourning her dead sons and fathers. Not sure which is accurate, but I like the idea that it is Lady Canada herself better. Great video, lovely to see a new view of the memorial.
Steve Sisko As someone else pointed out, the craftsmanship and talent displayed here is mind blowing. This is from a time before my father was born, and all over the site the mason work leaves those of us who can appreciate such things,min awe and reverence. The Lady is ll stone like everything else, but her flowing body length scarf thingy flows past her feet and along the ledge the statue is mounted to. ONE PIECE, and incorporated like it was a real woman suddenly frozen on the ledge of the memorial for eternity. Words dont describe well.
Thanks for the video. My great-grandfather was among those with the Canadians in this area. Originally from Devonshire, he had emigrated to the US in the 1890s and the to Canada. He lied about his age, he was too old to volunteer, in order to join the Canadian Cavalry. He was nearly 50 when he entered service. He survived through the Second Battle of Arras suffering a ruptured appendix in the last few days of the battle and was taken back to England where he survived. It took nearly a year for him to recover before making it back to his home in Alberta.
Steven Upton you're quite welcome. What an incredible sense of duty your grandfather had to have gone twice. It's only been in the last few years that I've been able to find out much about my GGF's service. We've his military records from the Canadian National Archives and have been able to trace his unit's steps via their daily logs and reports. It has sparked an interest in me to see the places where he served. The irony of it all is that during my early 20s, I lived in northern France for over a year and had no idea that he too had been there in the area. Your videos are a welcome surrogate and I hope you'll keep posting.
I am in Canada every September for a couple of weeks work and the person I stay with is ex-Candaian army. He came over here a couple of years back and I took him to Vimy and to Beaumont Hamel, plus various other first world war Canadian battlefields. If you can, you should come over.
Was back in Lille just over a year ago but only for the day. Went back to see Bergues just a few miles from where I had lived in Dunkerque. Spent a few days last May in France and Belgium. I was able to visit Normandy and spent some time with family in Alsace and Friends in the Ardennes. My next trip will be spent touring the western front. I've a good friend in Arras who's quite familiar with the Western Front. Send me an email and I'll give you my contact information
never seen the Vimy memorial by drone,i it is even more beautiful.we went on a motorcycle tour of Western Front about 40 yrs ago.. so glad they're looking after it. thank you.
Excellent drone footage it brings the area to life I never realized the scarring of the earth from the Shell fire during World War I it was so intense.
superb video and description Steven. ill have to call back to visit the new visitors centre. the messine craters near ypres. The only explosives that are left, that haven't gone off, i believe is under a farm ..eek !
I saw something only a few days ago that they now believe there are may be as many as 5 mines in the Messines area, and that two are under farms. I do want to film the Messines craters when I get time.
My great grandfather was with the Princess Pats Brigade at Vimy, in the tunnels...Was fortunate to be able to visit, and even found his actual tunnel. Really emotional visit.
Wow! Your aerial videos are truly amazing. I just recently started learning more of The Great War and what a scary time to be alive on the front lines. Seeing the scars of the battlefields gives me goose bumps. Very eerie to look at, I couldn't imagine the feeling of being there today, let alone 100 years ago. So many lives lost. Truly amazing/ saddening. I wish to someday visit some of the battlefields of the Western Front.
Robert Hartong thank you for watching and your comments. If you do get the chance to visit you should consider Massiges as it is the closest to how it was at the time.
Very good film with the drone giving great perspective on the battlefield. Just visited Vimy a couple of weeks ago. This gave even more insights. Will you make more videos in 2022?
As a Canadian I am extremely grateful for this very well detailed video and all of the kind words you used to describe the Canadian troops. We are taught about the importance of Vimy Ridge in school but they don't teach the fine details like you have given
Thank you for watching.
On the Vimy Memorial: The weeping woman is called Mother Canada.
Thank you for watching and your information.
@@StevenUpton14-18 excellent video again steve
The weeping woman is also known as Canada bereft
@@derekmcfadden1905
And, Mother Canada.
Another fabulous video Steve. As a Canadian my heart swells with pride every time I see the Vimy Memorial! We came together as a nation then and god bless those valiant lads who sacrificed themselves!
Thank you for watching. Next Monday I am filming Hill 70 near Loos captured by the Canadians in 1917.
british empire has been taken by stealth. ww3 started in 1946 and its still going.
thank you Steven. I visited the VIMY Memorial for the first time this past June following in the foot steps of my two great Uncles who fought there in April 1917. My Great Uncle Lt Percival Trendell fought with the Canadian 45 Battalion - 4 Canadian and my other Great Uncle Lt. Edwin Trendell fought with the 19 Battalion - 2 Canadian. Great Uncle Edwin Trendell is mentioned in dispatches several times during the morning hours of the 1st day of the attack and received a Military Cross for his actions on that date. To walk in the foot steps of the great Canadians who fought there and see what they accomplished made me very proud to be a Canadian. Unfortunately, Great Uncle Lt. Edwin Trendell did not survive the war and was killed at the Battle of Passchendaele on November 4th, 1917 while returning to Canadian lines from a night raid into the German lines. He is buried at the Ypres Reservoir Cemetery in Ypres. We must never forget the sacrifices of these men.
Thank you for watching and sharing your families memories. I will be filming Hill 70, near Loos in December, weather permitting. There is a Canadian memorial there.
Sacrifice is when you give something precious for a greater good or gain. What did Canada gain from WW1?
@@Scepticalasfuk respect
@@Scepticalasfuk Stopping world domination by Germany seems like a good idea....................
@@Scepticalasfuk you obviously missed the “Birth of a Nation” ...
Such a beautiful memorial, and I read an account of Vimy Ridge when I was 16 and how brave the Canadians are and were the account of the Battle lived with me forever, my own grandad fought and died on the messines ridge and has no known grave, his name is on the wall at Tyne Cot cemetery fabulous Film Steven, I am myself ex army.... we owe these soldiers such a debt of gratitude.....may they all rest in peace.
Thank you for watching. I have just got back home from Canada an hour ago. I have visited Tyne Cot many times, its a very moving place.
As a Canadian this makes me both proud and terribly sad. Even now the condition of the ground is shocking. I'm glad sheep are grazing peacefully there now. Thanks for your effort and video.
Thank you for watching. Canada became a nation in these fields.
when you hear a shell go off you know your having lamb tonight whats left of it
Oh boy, this gives me the shivers when I see the scarred land, the memorial and the history combined in your impressive video. Thank you so much!
Thank you for watching.
Thank you Steven for bringing history to youtube and thanks again for posting all of your video(s) too!
Thank you for watching.
Thanks so much for bringing these amazing videos Steven. History of the finest that people can see. I enjoy your work so much. Please keep these remarkable videos coming. Thanks once again.
Thank you for watching. I am doing some more filming, weather permitting, next month, December at Hill 70 near Loos and a cemetery in Belgium for someone who’s grand father is buried there.
Thank you so much for creating these videos, I mean all of them! You have a way of explaining things, that make it really easy to understand. Your factual approach, complimented by maps and diagrams are as good as something you would see on the history channel. I am Canadian by birth, and need to see Vimy with my own eyes. Thank you so much.
Thank you for watching. I will be filming the new Canadian Hill 70 memorial in April.
Steven, fantastic video thanks. We have just returned from our second visit, and you have shed lots more light on Vimy and given us amazing aerial views for better understanding .
Thank you for watching. I drove past there only this morning on my way back home.
Thank you so much for producing this.
Cheers from Canada.
Thank you for watching.
Thank you, Steven, not only for the comprehensive information and analysis, but for the recognition of the Canadian soldiers and General Currie and his staff. In 2015, I and my motorcycle flew over to Europe and spent 70 days travelling through western Europe. That was the 70th anniversary of the end of WW II. (Also my 70th birthday.) I visited many of the cemeteries of both world wars maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission who does a wonderful job of maintaining those sites. An additional piece of information - France ceded the land that the Vimy Ridge Memorial and associated buildings and the park land to Canada in perpetuity as thanks for their efforts to free France. The statue of the woman you mentioned is called "Canada Bereft".
Thank you for watching. 70 days in the saddle is a long trip. I hope you had a comfortable bike.
Thanks, Steven------ this is a wonderful video for those of us who have never been there, like myself. The drone footage gives a whole new perspective that really allows you to understand what happened there. The number of shell holes is astounding. Canadians will really appreciate this.
Thank you for watching.
I love these videos . This one as well as the Lorette Spur and the Somme series . The clarity of the filming is fantastic and your narration is first class . All of the above take me back to my trip to France . It's almost as if I am back there again . Keep up the great work and look forward to future postings. Cheers
Thank you for watching. Your comments are very encouraging.
great job, wonderful commentary.
Thank you for watching, sorry I did not reply earlier.
As always, well filmed, edited, and narrated. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for watching, and your encouraging feedback.
I visited the Vimy Memorial on April 26, 2017 with my choir. (We are from Vancouver, Canada). It was such a moving experience: as we approached the memorial on foot, its sheer scale and magnificence grew with each step. We passed the pockmarked landscape, stood on the steps of the memorial, and sang together. One of our members recounted his family story: about his father and his father's twin brothers, who had fought at this site 100 years ago. We visited many awe inspiring sites on that tour, including memorials to John McCrae (poem, "In Flanders Fields"). Thank you for your video - it brings back such great and important memories!
Thank you for watching. I have made a film about the place where John McCrae was at Ypres.
Superb work Steven. We did the western front tour last year and whilst informative it’s difficult to get your head around the whole scale of the Great War. These videos are a superb educational tool alongside reflective for anyone who’s about to go see the battlefields or have been to confirm the learning. Superb
Thank you for watching.
Just stumbled across your channel. Great job! Your drone views give the best perspective of elevation changes of the battlefields I have ever seen. Thank you for your service.
Thank you for watching.
I have watched many of Steven’s Drone videos. They are so informative and i cant think of a better way to ‘see’ and learn about this time in history.
Thank you for watching.
I have never seen the actual battlefield in such a full view. Thank you so much. Words can not express how thankful I am to you for this video.
Thank you for watching.
Your videos are exceptional. There is something personal in how you present these videos. It’s like a friend is showing you something important and we need to listen. The absence of noise from cars and people is very appreciated.
Thank you for watching and your encouraging comments.
Thank you for teaching us about the great war. I enjoy the way you comment as you fly past the battlefileds with your drone, its very educating to see the scars of the great war from another perspective and learn about it at the same time. Many many thanks for this great work you are doing. Best regards from Norway.
Thank you for watching.
Thanks Steven Upton, this was a great video (description) of the battle. I had 4 uncles in WW1 and I think 3 of them were at Vimy Ridge. It was really hard to know for sure, they didn't say very much at all of what they did.
Thank you for watching.
Thank you so much for this video. I was there a couple of weeks ago and this really helped out the big picture on what the lay of the land is there. Very well done.
Thank you for watching.
Thanks for sharing your film,my grandfather was in the fifth Canadien mounted rifles and fought at vimy ridge,he survived the war thankyou I hope to visit next year.
To add note,he also was at the 2nd battle of the Somme,amien,Ypres,and pashendael.
Thank you for watching. I hope you get the chance to visit. They built a new visitor centre there last year.
Nice
Yet another Great Aerial video
Didn't know about the unexploded mines
Thanks for bringing us along
PETER PIPER there was a documentary on TV about the mines. A British RE Colonel was given permission to excavate and they found the explosives with the detonators still in place. From studying the war diaries of the tunnelling companies and comparing them with the craters he discovered the missing mines. At least two are under the motorway.
Brings back memories of my visits to these sites. Your videos help me picture the flow of the battles. Great work.
Thank you for watching.
Wow, a whole new perspective for me. A great angle, and good overview. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for watching.
Thank you for your kind words about the Canadians, if you called for us again the great grandsons and great grandaughters of those original soldiers would March once more.
Thank you for watching and your comments. I am ex-RAF and have the greatest respect for all those Canadians who answered the call in 1914.
Then you're a nation of idiots. The UK left the commonwealth for dead when they joined the EU.
@@andersonsroad5161 This is a very sad but very true statement. As a Canadian I have to say that most (98%) of our population now is a very sad group of people who if asked would not even know what Vimy Ridge even was, but could surely tell you about the latest developements of political correctness or Transgender issues. Totally sad indeed.
I am a USN vet of the Vietnam war who has no time for political bantering. Often, I have read the awful words some obviously uneducated Americans and, Canadians have for one another. I love my country, respect to Canada! War is very complicated.
@@Joe-gu6oe Nothing complicated about the first world war and the carnage it inflicted on the commonwealth countries like Canada, Australia, New Zeeland etc.as they resisted german agression in Europe. You Americans sat back and did nothing because you wanted to see the British bled dry and also because you had so many hun immigrants. You only got involved because the hun torpedoed some of your ships. You then did the same thing in the second world war , you only got involved because the nazis declared war on you first. You're leaches. The soviet union defeated Nazi Germany not the United States.
Fantastic Steve, many thanks yet again. I personally think the Vimy Ridge Memorial is the most beautiful and thought provoking of all, especially the female figure on the rear, overlooking the plain - representing Canada weeping for her lost sons. I only found out a couple of years ago that the larger craters were in fact from underground mines - the Durand Group went to the site to make safe a very dangerous unexploded mine that was dead beneath the car park !!
Thank you for watching.
I didn't get a chance to see the Vimy memorial up close as I visited in 2006 when it was being restored. Thanks for this video, it was nice to see the detail up close and to be fair, your video probably yields better detail than can be seen by the naked eye from the ground anyway.
It is a beautiful memorial.
Thank you for watching. It is, in my opinion, the most beautiful WW1 memorial.
@@StevenUpton14-18 I've only recently discovered your videos but I'm really enjoying them. Planning to watch the Douaumont one at lunch time if I dont get disturbed!
I will be showing this video to my class in preparation for our trip to Vimy in March. Thanks very much!
Thank you for watching and I hope you enjoy your trip. If you look south from Vimy ridge you will see a church on a hill, that is Notre Dam de Lorette (see czcams.com/video/aVc9GK7K1uY/video.html). It is also worth a visit whilst in the area. I have made several short films about WW1 you may want check out my channel.
@@StevenUpton14-18 Yes I've been there and also watched the video. Thanks again.
the fact the clouds were out at dawn was probably a blessing in disguise for getting drone footage from all angles, as the clouds prevented a wash of bloom and lens flares obstructing the view. That and the gloomy sky does add appropriately to the somberness of the memorial. Thanks much for the incredible videography of such spectacular places. B)
Thank you for watching.
Couldn’t be prouder to be Canadian
Thank you for watching. You have every right to be proud. The Canadians did a great job.
You have a military history that no others can come close too.
regrettably in hindsight 2020 vision the monument symbolises a galli cutter. used for castration. pharonic egyptian head pieces are of a similar design. piece from upsidedowndy australia aka new holland
it is an eye opener, went there 30 years ago, free tours, a bus of British tourists was there in the tunnels, they mentioned my wife and I are Canadian the people applauded, felt weird very proud moment.
They are all rolling in their graves at the fact we let Crime Minister Castro and Brown Shirt Billie Boi get away with tyranny.
I am a Canadian and visited the Vimy Memorial in 2011 with my children to visit the battlefields of Ypres and Vimy where my grandparents saw action. This video gave me a much greater appreciation of the scale of the blasted landscape in the surrounding countryside. Something you cannot see from the ground given such zones are too dangerous to enter. Thank you for such an interesting perspective.
Thank you for watching.
Great Video, Thank you. From the drone view, it´s chilling to see the scale of destruction still visible 100 years later.
Thank you for watching. This is one of the few places that gives you the idea of what the 'crater field' of shell holes must have looked like.
We have visited twice and it is amazing, especially in the tunnels. My great grandfather left the UK in 1906 for Manitoba and joined the Canadian Army. He fought at Vimy in the 27th Btn and lost his life the following month between Acheville and Fresnoy. As an Englishman I am so proud S R Thorington was part of the birth of a nation. Thank you for the video.
Thank you for watching.
awesome I love your videos when you show a map at the bigenning and then situate us with your commentary. For somebody who’s never set foot in France it is very helpful then just raw footage
Thank you for watching.
Vimy Ridge is such an historical place, so much worth the visit. Thank you Steve for your very interesting drone flights 👍.
Thank you for watching.
Another great video honoring the memories of the fallen and those who made it home. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for watching.
Great video, very informative and helped visualize it better. Read Tim Cook's 'Vimy' last year and so glad I came across this and nice filming technique.
Thank you for watching.
Really appreciate the kind words to Canadians. I get so tired of the cheap shots from Americans in that regard. We were there in both wars from the start, not when it was half over.
I love being American but I will admit we are very arrogant sometimes but I respect canadians I have met alot of very friendly canadians very educated people
Thank you for watching. Canada came to our aid in both world wars providing some of the finest soldiers ever to take to the field.
You may have grazed in the wrong pasture. Many of my fellow Americans know very little true history but, some of us do. I appreciate your comment. My respect for you sir.
lovely video and great descriptive remarks of a battlefield i was until now not familiar with. thank you!
Thank you for watching.
Thank you, as a Canadian, for your work. All of your videos are excellent.
Thank you for watching.
Brilliant images of the Vimy Memorial. Really fantastic work, Steven!
Thank you for watching.
I did a tour of the tunnels around Vimy, many years ago. The tunnels strech for miles, even back as far as Arras and it allowed troops to reach the front line, under complete cover. I wrote this comment, just before you mentioned it!
I went down the tunnels again only last month. I asked the guide how far back behind the front lines they went and was told 1.2 kms. Not as far as Arras, but still a long way.
Well explained, thank you. I visited Vimy not long ago. The memorial is beautiful, and the battlefield impressive and worth visiting. May they all rest in peace.
Thank you for watching.
I’ve been there twice, second time it was covered due to restoration.
My grandfather was attached to the 137th Field Ambulance, RAMC. I cannot imagine what horrors he witnessed. His sons, my father and uncle, both became doctors, I don’t know if his experiences influenced their decision to become doctors. Sadly my grandfather died in 1955 due to an accidental gassing at his home, I never knew him as I was only 3 when he died.
Thank you for watching.
Again Steven an easy to understand film of the events at Vimy and excellent drone footage. This is the first place on the Western Front I visited back in 1992 when our daughter was on a gap year as an assistant teacher in Bethune. I have been back many times and I'm always moved by the monument especially the statue of the woman that appears to be cradling a baby that is no longer there. Thank you, I know that I will watch this film many times.
Thank you for watching. Weather permitting, I intend filming Hill 70 near Loos this coming Monday. The Canadians attacked it in 1917.
@@StevenUpton14-18 Look forward to seeing it Steven.
I'm really enjoying these videos. You give a lot of great information coupled with great visuals.
Thank you for watching.
I have family on the wall at Vimy, and served in the Canadian Army myself. Thank you for this video
Thank you for watching.
I keep coming back to see this video because I have been obsessed with this memorial ever since I learned of it, and later found this beautifully done video... now I have planned a trip to visit it in spring 2021! I am so excited. I will be travelling from Vancouver, Canada. Any recommendations from anyone related to a visit? I've already considered all the different times of day, and I would most enjoy to be there with the least amount of people. Thank you again Steven for your amazing work.
Thank you for watching. If you can get there for dawn, it is very atmospheric and no one there. You will need to hang around and take in the visitor centre and book a guided trip down the tunnels.
Where are you staying? Will you have a rental car? In 2017 I stayed in Lens, and if you have a rental car pretty much any battlefield where the CEF was in action is a reasonable day-trip from there - if you can keep yourself from visiting every CWGC cemetery or monument you pass.
@@FirstLast-nk3lm When I was at university, one day in the administration office I saw a poster on the ads board about opportunities to go volunteer at places like Vimy and Beaumont Hamel, that's where all the young guides come from. When I was at Vimy in 2017 there were university aged-kids doing the tunnel tours, but they knew their script, and they took it seriously, which is enough.
Steve, got to visit this in summer 2022. My great uncles served in the artillery. Both hard of hearing. I figured it out later.
Good stuff, thanks again Steve.
Thank you for watching. My father was Royal Artillery in WW2.
Well done. Thank you for your effort in making this video. I learned a few things which is always a good thing.
Thank you for watching.
Steve - I do a talk on Vimy and have used some of this video clip in my talk. Thanks for it. Both my grandfathers fought at Vimy, and I have a letter written by one of them on April 10, 1917. If you'd like to see a copy of it, give me your email address and I will send. Was at Vimy in May last year, just after the centennial. Stayed in Vimy with a family that took me in. Amazing all the Canadian flags flying in the town.
Thank you for watching. Sorry its taken so long to reply, I missed your post.
Very good video. Thanks for making it and posting it.
Thank you for watching.
Thank you for making this.
Thank you for watching.
Thank you for the videos Steven. Good stuff!
Thank you for watching.
Quite a voice u got mate. 👍😉
Its crazy to see just how close to eachother the germans and the canadian trench were. Great video
Thank you for watching.
I'm enjoying your vids a lot. Very informative and well documented. I just learned I have a relative memorialized on the Vimy Monument (Hazel L. Lambert, 50th Bn. CEF) who was KIA a month after surviving this battle, a few miles beyond the ridge near Lens I believe. I also have another direct relative buried at Tyne Cot.
Thank you for watching. Sorry for you family's loss. I have visited Tyne Cott many times.
Thanks for this video Stephen. My Great Granduncles name is on the Vimy memorial. He went missing, presumed killed, 11th August, 1918 in the village of Hallu. I hope to visit one day.
Thank you for watching. Sorry for your family's loss.
i was lucky enough to visit vimy ridge while on holiday......a truly amazing place....and as you say the view from the top shows why it was such an important site....
Thank you for watching.
Thank you Steven. When I visited the sun was shining and made it hard to appreciate the monument due to the snow blinding effect of the white stone, but still a memorable experience.
Thank you for watching.
I have been to Vimy twice and did not get an idea of where the 2 sides were , this video has made things clear I need to go back now and see it with this knowledge. Thanks for a Brilliant video
Thank you for watching.
Having some family in Canada, what I've learned as a Brit is that at the outbreak of WW1, most Canadians had direct links back to Britain, often being British immigrants to Canada and who fought under a sense Canadian British paternal duty.
What happened at vimy ridge, when all four Canadian divisions fought together and won their battle was that they forged a new Canadian identity, and found they could stand on their own two feet, alone, as Canadians..
The significance of vimy ridge to Canadians is more than just a heroic battle.
The battle became the genesis of a new nations identity, where Canada came of age and fledged the British nest to independence.
A symbolic battle in many ways.
Thank you for watching.
Great Video. I visited the memorial, and it was humbling. This is something every Canadian should visit. Basically it's a Canadian pilgrimage.
Thank you for watching.
Never seen this one , THANKS for posting .
Thank you for watching.
Thank you Mr Steven Upton. I am very fascinated by the Great War. I am captivated even more now that I have found your channel. Always touching and awe inspiring sir. From Los Angeles CA.
Thank you for watching. I hope that one day you can visit the battlefields. There is nothing as special as walking these fields.
Very fascinating. Thank you for a great video!
Thank you for watching.
Absolutely superb Steven. Your soft brummy twang evoking memories of the Shropshire lads.......
Me! an accent? Thank you for watching.
Fantastic viewing,thank you very much.
Thank you for watching.
Beautifully filmed Steven. The Canadians at Vimy were under the command of Julian Byng, Currie was just a division commander at that time. After Vimy, Byng was given command of a British Army, and Currie then became the Canadian Corps Commander
Thank you for watching and the correction.
Greetings from Canada Steven. Thank you for your videos. I like your understated tone, it allows the facts to speak for themselves. It is horrifying to consider what these young men went through, and the suffering visited upon them and their families, but this is the only way we can avoid repeating these mistakes in the future.
Thank you for watching.
Many thanks I was lucky enough to see Vimy in 2018. Greetings from Vancouver Canada
Thank you for watching.
What an extraordinarily fine monument. The figure carving is excellent, so much fluidity, even in the steps at the sides.
Thank you for watching.
Dear Stephen I just wanted to thank you for this and all your remarkable and so thoughtful videos. My grandfather was there in the Canadian Artillery. He slept through the battle having moved over a million shells prior. If you are interested I have a copy of Currie's After Action Report that he wrote in May
Thank you for watching. If you can email it I would certainly be very interested. steven@s-upton.com
Thank you for making this video. Both my Great Grandfather's were involved in this campaign. I've wanted to visit for a long time. I think now I might just do that.
Thank you for watching. I see you have found it.
Wonderful, thanks for the video....I'll watch the rest!
Very educational!
Thank you for watching. Please subscribe as there will be more WW1 videos shortly. I am going back the the Vimy area next month.
Such a remarkable documentary and video Steven. Best Wishes !
Thank you for watching.
Amazing footage ! Thank you so much.
Thank you for watching.
Thank you for this guided visit, from a Canadian who appreciates seeing all of this.
Thank you for watching.
Thank you for this video, very interesting indeed. Drone footage perfect to capture a battlefield.
Thank you for watching.
Thank you for the educational series. I am trying to identify who in the family served in WW1 but I believe it to be my Mum's Father (Eire/ US)and the great Uncles and Cousins of my Father's Mother (ANZAC)
I actually thought those slag heaps were further removed from the battlefront but are actually only a couple of miles due north of the Monument, easily identifiable on Google's Terrain maps, and are classified as a UNESCO WHS. I never would've thought to investigate further into their significance had you not mentioned them however briefly.
Thank you, again for your time and experience as I may never be able to visit these sites, in the future. Your narration is just the right pitch of reverence and introspective tone for touring these sites.
Kindest regards from across the Pond.
Thank you for watching. I will be 'across the pond' next week, working in New Jersey.
At 11:17ish it's mentioned that the statue of the woman weeping is meant to represent relatives of the dead? It's my understanding that the statue is symbolic of Lady Canada herself bereft mourning her dead sons and fathers. Not sure which is accurate, but I like the idea that it is Lady Canada herself better. Great video, lovely to see a new view of the memorial.
On reflection, I think you are correct.
Steve Sisko As someone else pointed out, the craftsmanship and talent displayed here is mind blowing. This is from a time before my father was born, and all over the site the mason work leaves those of us who can appreciate such things,min awe and reverence. The Lady is ll stone like everything else, but her flowing body length scarf thingy flows past her feet and along the ledge the statue is mounted to. ONE PIECE, and incorporated like it was a real woman suddenly frozen on the ledge of the memorial for eternity. Words dont describe well.
@@bsc4344 I'm going to visit the memorial spring 2021!
Thanks for the video. My great-grandfather was among those with the Canadians in this area. Originally from Devonshire, he had emigrated to the US in the 1890s and the to Canada. He lied about his age, he was too old to volunteer, in order to join the Canadian Cavalry. He was nearly 50 when he entered service. He survived through the Second Battle of Arras suffering a ruptured appendix in the last few days of the battle and was taken back to England where he survived. It took nearly a year for him to recover before making it back to his home in Alberta.
Thank you for watching, and sharing about your GGF. My GF served throughout the war and joined up again for the second one.
Steven Upton you're quite welcome. What an incredible sense of duty your grandfather had to have gone twice.
It's only been in the last few years that I've been able to find out much about my GGF's service. We've his military records from the Canadian National Archives and have been able to trace his unit's steps via their daily logs and reports.
It has sparked an interest in me to see the places where he served. The irony of it all is that during my early 20s, I lived in northern France for over a year and had no idea that he too had been there in the area.
Your videos are a welcome surrogate and I hope you'll keep posting.
I am in Canada every September for a couple of weeks work and the person I stay with is ex-Candaian army. He came over here a couple of years back and I took him to Vimy and to Beaumont Hamel, plus various other first world war Canadian battlefields.
If you can, you should come over.
Was back in Lille just over a year ago but only for the day. Went back to see Bergues just a few miles from where I had lived in Dunkerque.
Spent a few days last May in France and Belgium. I was able to visit Normandy and spent some time with family in Alsace and Friends in the Ardennes.
My next trip will be spent touring the western front. I've a good friend in Arras who's quite familiar with the Western Front.
Send me an email and I'll give you my contact information
Hoping to visit Vimy next year, will reference this whilst there, many thanks
Thank you for watching. Vimy is a special place to visit.
it stunning to see, worth the trip. it run by parks canada , if you are CDN you get a pile of stuff to read.
never seen the Vimy memorial by drone,i it is even more beautiful.we went on a motorcycle tour of Western Front about 40 yrs ago.. so glad they're looking after it. thank you.
Thank you for watching. I have just added to my channel a film about Hill 70 and the Canadian attack of 1917.
Excellent video and commentary. Thank you
Thank you for watching.
Thank You Steven for giving substance to a bucket list item in my life .
Thank you for watching. If you do get the chance to visit, also go to the new Canadian memorial at Hill 70. Its not far from Vimy.
Excellent drone footage it brings the area to life I never realized the scarring of the earth from the Shell fire during World War I it was so intense.
Thank you for watching. There was a reason why they called it a crater field; miles of overlapping shell holes.
superb video and description Steven. ill have to call back to visit the new visitors centre. the messine craters near ypres. The only explosives that are left, that haven't gone off, i believe is under a farm ..eek !
I saw something only a few days ago that they now believe there are may be as many as 5 mines in the Messines area, and that two are under farms. I do want to film the Messines craters when I get time.
that would be great, if you get chance to video them 😊
My great grandfather was with the Princess Pats Brigade at Vimy, in the tunnels...Was fortunate to be able to visit, and even found his actual tunnel. Really emotional visit.
Thank you for watching.
Wow! Your aerial videos are truly amazing. I just recently started learning more of The Great War and what a scary time to be alive on the front lines. Seeing the scars of the battlefields gives me goose bumps. Very eerie to look at, I couldn't imagine the feeling of being there today, let alone 100 years ago. So many lives lost. Truly amazing/ saddening. I wish to someday visit some of the battlefields of the Western Front.
Robert Hartong thank you for watching and your comments. If you do get the chance to visit you should consider Massiges as it is the closest to how it was at the time.
Thank you very much, from a proud but humble Canadian!
Really well presented!
Thank you for watching.
i have so far not been out to see these,but this was a great video.
Thank you for watching. If you get the chance to go, take it.
Love this content man, great channel. Earned a sub
Do you happen to know what the house near the memorial is for?
@@dillypentland - Not for certain, but I think it is the home of someone who supervises the memorial park.
Very good film with the drone giving great perspective on the battlefield. Just visited Vimy a couple of weeks ago. This gave even more insights. Will you make more videos in 2022?
Thank you for watching. I am not sure when I will be able to visit the Western Front again to film.
Excellent aerial views, thank you Stephen
Thank you for watching.