点评:My wife and I made the trip of a lifetime to France in August. We were there for 3 weeks and many specific many reasons, including being the first ever family to visit the grave of my cousin Roy Fenwick who was killed in France in 1918. He lies in Tilloy British Cemetery, just outside the town of Arras.
One of our main goals on our trip was to visit the CWGC and see how the graves and grounds are maintained. We had no idea of the attention to detail we would discover on our tour of the CWGC! Our guide, Eiligh Bower was amazing. She had done research into my cousin for us in advance of our visit, and she was very interested in our story. She was extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and it made for a wonderful highlight in our trip.
The CWGC also had arranged for us to meet one of the senior gardeners David Woody. David is a 3rd generation CWGC gardener and he shared the incredible story of the CWGC, what they do, the pride they take in their trade and the honour they bring to the war graves.
It was a truly amazing experience for us, especially as we had yet to visit Roy's grave.
I want to thank the CWGC for all they do. Canada sent to France many thousands of our youngest, our best, our brightest. So many did not return to their families, instead they lie in your keep. Thank you for keeping them alive in our hearts and minds as they paid the ultimate price for the freedom of France and deserve to be remembered.
翻译:今年8月,我和妻子开启了人生中最难忘的法国之旅。我们在那里待了三周,此行有诸多特殊原因,其中之一就是我们成为了有史以来第一户前往安葬着我表兄罗伊·芬威克的墓地扫墓的家庭。罗伊于1918年在法国阵亡,他的墓地位于阿拉斯镇郊外的蒂洛伊英国公墓。
此次旅行的主要目的之一,就是参观英国战争墓地委员会(CWGC),看看那里的墓碑与墓地是如何得到维护的。然而,在参观过程中,我们才意识到他们对细节的用心程度远远超出了我们的想象!我们的导游艾莉·鲍尔表现得非常出色。在我们到访之前,她为我们对我表弟的相关资料做了深入研究,而且她对我们的故事也表现出极大的兴趣。她知识渊博且乐于助人,为我们的旅程增添了一抹美妙的亮点。
英国战争墓地委员会还安排我们与资深园丁大卫·伍迪见面。大卫是英国战争墓地委员会的第三代园丁,他向我们讲述了该委员会的动人历程以及他们所从事的工作。他们为自己所从事的工作感到自豪,也为战争纪念碑带来了荣耀。
对我们来说,这是一次真正令人难忘的经历,尤其是因为我们当时还未去过罗伊的墓地。
我想感谢英联邦战争墓地委员会所做的一切。加拿大派出了成千上万的年轻人——我们最优秀、最聪明的一代——前往法国。他们中许多人未能回到家人身边,而是长眠在你们守护的墓园中。感谢你们让他们永远活在我们的心中与记忆里。他们为法国的自由付出了生命的代价,理应被世人铭记。