A trip of a lifetime has provided a Terry Fox secondary school student with greater understanding of the sacrifice of soldiers in the First World War.
Alice Ng, a Grade 12 student at the Port Coquitlam school, recently returned from a trip to France as a winner of the Vimy Pilgrimage Award. After touring important WWI memorial sites marking the battles at Ypres, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele and the Somme, Ng wants to be an ambassador for the Vimy Foundation to tell other School District 43 students of her experience.
"I do find that, as the generations grow, we are losing that connection between history and the young people today, and it is important for us to remember the soldiers that laid down their lives to serve our country," Ng told The Tri-City News.
She was one of 25 students chosen from across Canada to participate in the educational tour. Ng, a volunteer with the city of PoCo's youth ambassadors program, was selected based on an essay she wrote expressing her immigrant family's gratitude for being welcomed in Canada.
The trip took place April 5 to 12 and included a guided tour of Paris, visits to memorial sites - including the Cabaret Rouge British Cemetery outside of Vimy Ridge, where many Canadians are buried; the Museum of the Great War in Péronne; and the Thieval Memorial, which stands in memory of the missing in Somme, the Wellington Quarry in Arras - plus other important sites.
One of the most impressive memories, said Ng, was her visit to the Vimy Ridge historic site, which marks the spot in 1917 where Canadian troops joined British and French soldiers in one of the most significant battles of WWI.
In addition to taking part in the opening of an education centre with Minister of Veterans' Affairs Julian Fantino, Ng toured the tunnels and trenches that were used in battle.
The experience is one she will never forget.
"Reading from a textbook is nothing compared to being there first hand," she said. "Before, I was interested by WWI but, after going to the museums and learning so much more, I am really intrigued about and want to get to know more about the different events."
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