Hon. Rebecca Patterson: Honourable senators:

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon in front of them

Volleyed and thundered;

Stormed at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of hell,

Rode the six hundred.

Lord Tennyson wrote The Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War in 1854, but he easily could have been referring to the four Canadian divisions as they fought to take Vimy Ridge, in France, in April of 1917.

Not even 50 years since Confederation, the four divisions of the Canadian Army fought together for the first time and set out on April 9 to take the ridge that had thus eluded the Entente powers.

The 38th Ottawa Overseas Battalion, who used the front lawn of Parliament Hill for drill practice and who today live on as the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (Duke of Edinburgh’s Own), was one of the many battalions that took part in the battle.

Then captain, later major, Thain MacDowell, was awarded the Victoria Cross, the 38th Battalion’s first, for his efforts at Vimy, where he and two runners captured a German trench and bunker, seizing two machine guns and taking 77 prisoners.

Over four days, Canadian soldiers — our sons, our brothers, our husbands — gave it their all. And they paid a terrible toll, with more than 10,000 who were either killed or wounded.

Those injured soldiers were cared for by the still nascent Canadian Army Medical Corps, the CAMC, which was founded in 1904. Over the four years of the Great War, 21,453 men and women wore the Canadian Army Medical Corps badge, three of them earning the Victoria Cross.

Canadian women played a valuable role in the First World War. More than 2,800 Canadian women served as nursing sisters, earning the nickname “bluebirds” on account of their blue frocks and white veils, giving peace and comfort to wounded soldiers. While not in the trenches, Canada’s nurses served in support of every battle, including at Vimy Ridge. Of those 2,845 nurses who served, 58 made the ultimate sacrifice.

I’d like to close with some lines from another poet, who also happened to be a Canadian Army doctor — you may have heard of him — Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. As you pause next week to commemorate the Battle of Vimy Ridge and to reflect on the sacrifices paid, remember these words:

[Translation]

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved,

and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

[English]

Thank you, honourable senators.