Sometimes memorials are found by accident, like this one to two Canadian soldiers in Dieppe, France

es, particularly in 1916, where the first day of the battle was July the Ist. Canada Day at the Newfoundland Beaumont-Hamel Memorial is a spe- cial experience. In this area, it is liter- ally impossible to go anywhere with- out seeing some reminder of the war, either cemeteries or the signs pointing towards them, memorials, museums, shells that litter the sides of the road (found by local farmers in their fields), or concrete emplacements for machine-guns or artillery. Along with the Beaumont-Hamel memorial where you can get free guided tours from - Canadian students, there is also the Courcellette Memorial to the part the Canadian Corps played in the battle.

Vimy Ridge is a battlefield whose name stands out particularly in Canadian memory. At the highest point of Vimy Ridge, Hill 145, Canada built a memorial to the 11,285 Canadians

who died in France and who have unknown graves. The memorial site is a tiny part of the actual battlefield. The Canadian Corps sector ran over about 6-7 kilometres of the ridge, roughly half of its total length. The memorial is not an easy place to get to. You have two choices, either take a taxi from Arras, the nearest large city (and train station), about a 15 min ride (which can be a bit pricey). Your second option is to get a train to the town of Vimy itself and walk up the ridge for a couple of hours until you reach the memorial. Cheaper, but less conven- ient. Don't be discouraged by the look of the former train station in Vimy, they closed it down years ago. The trains only stop there to let off Canadians going to the memorial. East of Arras and Vimy Ridge there are a number of other memorials that com- memorate battles that were important

No matter what, don’t get discouraged. (Former) train station, Vimy, France.

to the Canadian Corps and the Royal Newfoundland Regiment like Dury, Bourlon Wood, and Monchy-le-Preux. If you're really keen on seeing these you'll either have to rent a car or con- vince a friend to drive you there - there are no battlefield tour companies in the area.

If you can, try to visit these areas in late April or early March. This is around planting season, so there are no high crops to obscure your view or to hide machine-gun nests.

If you are planning on visiting the Normandy beaches, the place to start is Caen. There are a number of tour companies operating in the area, along with tours geared specifically for Canadians. Juno Beach was where the Canadians landed. There are a lot of bits of the German concrete defences left, along with hundreds of memorial plaques. No trip to Normandy is com-

plete without seeing the Bayeaux tap- estry, a depiction of another invasion across the English Channel (although it was in 1066 and going the other way). I am less familiar with the Normandy battles than with the WWI battlefields. I picked up a battlefield guide to help me. There are a lot of such guides available. I used A Canadian's Guide to the Battlefields of Normandy by J. T. Copp, of Wilfrid Laurier University. Doing an online book search will turn up plenty of other titles.

I know that I've only given a brief description of a paltry few of the sites worth seeing. The best advice I can give is to go out there and research it yourself. Almost all of the informa- tion you need you can find on the net or in books. For everything else, there's Visa (Mastercard being not quite as universally taken in Europe). Good luck

UPEI Wind Symphony Offers Emotional Performances

By Angela MASON

The Department of Music at the University of Prince Edward Island presents its 46-member Wind Symphony in concert on Friday, November 15 at 7:30 pm as part of the UPEI Conductors' Art Symposium tak- ing place in the Music Department on November 14-16. The Wind Symphony is under the direction of Dr. Karem J. Simon, chair of the UPEI — music department and professor of _ clarinet and secondary music educa- tion.

After a concert tour in the

Halifax and Dartmouth areas over the past weekend, the Wind Symphony has returned home to perform for a third time at the Dr. Steel Recital Hall, pre- senting a program that includes Gumsucker’s March by prominent wind band composer Percy Aldridge Grainger with guest conductor Dr. Dale Lonis. Dr. Lonis is music depart- ment chair as well as professor of graduate conducting of the University of Manitoba. This is the only chance to see the group perform this semester,

_ so take a study break and come on out

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and enjoy!

Friday night's performance will feature classic as well as contem- porary music for wind band. Among the highlights of UPEI Wind Symphony's repertoire is Epinicion by John Paulson. This timely perform- ance depicts the anguish and suffering of war. Another piece Watchman, Tell Us Of The Night by the American composer Mark Camphouse describes the feelings of survivors of child abuse through music. This performance will feature a solo work by clarinetist Laura

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MacGrath from Truro, Nova Scotia. She will perform Weber's Concertino in Eb Major. Other works include Celebration which is our most chal- lenging work composed by Philip Sparke, and Madurodam by Johan de Meij who also wrote wind band music inspired by Tolkiens's Lord of the Rings novels.

Tickets for these concerts may be purchased at the performance hall on the night of the event. Admission is $8; $5 seniors and students.

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