The Canadian Memorial, St. Julien, Belgium.

The Canadian Memorial stands in Saint Julien Wood, a section of forested land in Belgium, near Langemark at the north east of the Ypres Salient. During World War I, the location was known as 'Vancouver Corner'. Kitchener's Wood is close by.

The memorial stands 11 metres tall and is visable for miles around. It rises from a flagstoned terrace, carved to form the bowed head and shoulders of a Canadian soldier, his hands resting on his reversed rifle. It is surrounded by tall cedars trimmed into cones to complement the granite shaft.




On 22nd & 23rd April 1915, the 5th, 8th, 10th and 15th Battalions of the 2nd Brigade of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, became the first units of the British Army to experience a German chlorine gas attack, at the beginning of the Second Battle of Ypres.




Out of the 816 Canadian soldiers from 10th Battalion C.E.F, who were to the right of the British forces, 623 of them lay dead by the end of 23rd April. They were buried where they fell.