The Planting of the War Memorial Trees
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On April 20th, 1917, just after the war of Vimy Ridge, The Canadian Woman's Club donated fourteen maples which were planted on the grounds of Victoria High School, flanking both sides of the Vining Street Entrance.
When they were planted, the war was far from over, but the school and the province did not wait until the Armistice of 1918 to memorialize the fallen. These trees represent the three teachers and 53 students from the school who had died on the fields of France and Flanders in the Great War of 1914–1918, also known as the First World War. These trees formed one of the longest-lived avenues of memorial trees in Canada, and the story of the Vining Street maple trees is an important part of Canadian Military history. Even though they became old, were starting to die, and were eventually cut down and replaced with another set of maples in 2011, the memory of the original trees remains unforgotten and remembered fondly. They will always be apart of the school's beloved story, and they were the inspiration for the Alumni’s “Great War Project” and this web site. - by Samantha Castleman |