Sault teen chosen for Vimy pilgrimage

The Sault’s Daphne Dupuis, a Superior Heights Collegiate Grade 12 student who is considering a career in engineering or medicine, has been chosen to be one of 20 Canadian young people to receive the 2020 Vimy Pilgrimage Award.

From April 2 to 10, Vimy Pilgrimage Award winners will learn more about Canada’s key role in the First World War, visiting museums, cemeteries, and historic battlefields in France and Belgium.

“We’re going to be in the trenches and they’re opening up special parts for us to see which aren’t normally open, which I think is super cool,” Daphne said, speaking to SooToday.

The fully-funded trip is sponsored by Scotiabank.

Vimy Pilgrimage Award winners will also take part in the Vimy Day commemoration ceremony at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.

“They were looking for kids who were really involved in their community and who would be good ambassadors for the program,” Daphne said.

“What the entire program is about is teaching youth about First World War history and continuing to remember it because there are no longer any First World War soldiers living. It’s important to preserve their legacy and make sure, even though we don’t hear those first-hand experiences from them anymore, we learn what they sacrificed so our country could be free today.”

“It was back in November and I saw an advertisement for it online and I really, really like history, so when I saw it I thought that would be something really cool to go on.”

Daphne went to the Vimy Pilgrimage Award website, later submitting two required 500-word essays.

Her first essay highlighted her own involvement in her school and in the community, the second essay involved the role of Canadian women in wartime.

“I also had to do a two-minute (video) interview which I sent to them, introducing myself and speaking a little bit more about why I wanted to go and what I thought I would learn from the experience,” Daphne said.

“My aunt is in the military today (with the Royal Canadian Air Force). She’s done tours abroad, and having a family member who is in the military got me interested in the military history of Canada and how the military has evolved, because at a certain point women weren’t allowed to be in the army. In World War I they could only be nurses. So looking back at how that evolved definitely encouraged me to apply for the Vimy program,” Daphne said.

The First World War battle, which resulted in the Canadian capture of an important part of German-held territory in France, lasted from April 9 to 12, 1917 and claimed over 3,500 Canadian lives, with another 7,000 wounded.

The epic victory is regarded as a highlight in Canadian history, a ‘coming of age’ for Canada.

That fact isn’t lost on Daphne.

“I’ve always been into history, especially World War I and World War II, and Vimy Ridge was one of the defining moments in Canadian history...it made us a big hitter in global affairs.”

After the trip, Daphne will be speaking to the Superior Heights Grade 10 and Grade 12 history classes, sharing her experiences and what she has learned.

“Also, with my dance studio (MacLeod Highland Dance Studio), we have members who are female cadets...so I’ll definitely talk to them about what I saw when I was there and how the military has evolved. It’ll be interesting to speak to them from that perspective.”