The centennial of a Canadian war battle was marked during a solemn occasion in Vernon Sunday.
More than 200 people attended the B.C. Dragoons’ tribute to the Battle of Vimy Ridge at the Vernon cenotaph.
The event included a parade of B.C. Dragoons members as well as the Kalamalka Highlanders Band.
The Vernon branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Army Navy Airforce Veterans provided the colour party.
Speeches were made by MP Mel Arnold, MLA Eric Foster, Vernon Coun. Catherine Lord and Lt.-Col. Mike McGinty, the Dragoons’ commanding officer.
On April 9, 1917, the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles – predecessor of the B.C. Dragoons – took part in the Battle of Vimy Ridge. It was the first occasion in the First World War when all four divisions of the Canadian Corps fought side-by-side, and the Okanagan’s own regiment’s role was to forward against German lines at the centre of the Canadian advance.
From the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles, 47 soldiers were killed and 151 wounded in the assault.
