B.C. Dragoons marking Vimy Ridge anniversary in Kelowna

KELOWNA – One-hundred years ago, Okanagan soldiers took part in Canada’s biggest battle in World War I at Vimy Ridge and on Sunday the B.C. Dragoons will mark the anniversary in Kelowna with a ceremony and parade.

For the Dragoons, this anniversary marks day when their predecessors, the Second Canadian Mounted Rifles, stormed the German lines at Vimy Ridge, according to a media release.

The Dragoons are holding a ceremony in Kelowna to commemorate the historic milestone. The ceremony will start at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 9, at the Brigadier Angle Armoury at 720 Lawrence Ave. A parade will march down Lawrence Avenue to Kelowna City Park where a wreath will be placed at the cenotaph.

During the battle, 47 soldiers from the Okanagan’s Own Regiment died, while 151 were wounded, the release says. The battle of Vimy Ridge, on April 9, 1917, was the first occasion in World War I that all four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought together.

"The Okanagan’s Own Regiment played an important role in securing victory at Vimy Ridge, a battlefield that is today the site of Canada’s national memorial to the First World War," Lt. Jim Wood with the B.C. Dragoons says in the release.

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