Her Honour Judith Guichon Lt Governor General of British Columbia is to attend a uniquely inclusive Battle of Vimy Ridge Commemoration event in Surrey on Thursday, April 6. On the occasion of the centennial of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, School District 36 Surrey will host a multi-school presentation put on by the Indus Media Foundation and L.A. Matheson school teachers to recognize the contribution of Commonwealth soldiers to the Allied war effort in the World War I L.A.
Matheson Secondary is an inner-city school with a large South Asian population located in North Surrey. This event will include multiple schools and many of their secondary history classes from the Surrey School District.
In addition to the Lt Governor General, other Government attendees will include: The Honourable Linda Reid, Speaker Of The House, The Honourable Peter Fassbender, Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, The Honourable Amrik Virk, Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens' Services who will act as the Director of Ceremonies, and Members of Canadian Forces: Major Lee Taylor & British Columbia Regiment 3300 'Sikh Cadets'.
This event will bring together over 350 students, South Asian veterans, including WW2 veterans, veterans families and members of the community in a unique commemoration ceremony. The descendants of soldiers that fought alongside Canadians as brothers-in-arms in WW1 in France's Pas-de-Calais region, where Vimy Ridge is located, will be participating in the event.
These descendants of WW1 soldiers will address the student audience with their remarks to recognise and pay tribute to the forgotten British Indian troops that served the Crown in WW1. Over 135,000 Indian troops fought alongside Canadian troops on the Western Front, in Battles that included at Ypres & St Julian, Festubert, Somme and Vimy.
As soldiers of the Crown, their wartime sacrifices were disowned by the Republic of India on achieving independence in 1947 and that heritage was subsequently also dismissed by Canada and other British Empire dominions as non-white history. This unique event will restore this lost heritage as an important part of Canadian history; over 300,000 Punjabi troops hailing from the districts of the Komagata Maru passengers were sent to the various theatres of war as defenders of the Crown in WW1 (1914-1918).
