Brooks Secondary School graduate Elizabeth Gillen is one of 15 cadets from across the country chosen to represent Canada at the 100th anniversary celebration of the Battle of Amiens in France later this week.
Gillen, currently ranked master warrant officer, has been part of the Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, BC Regiment in Powell River for the past six years.
“I’m the only army cadet in BC going,” said Gillen. “They choose three from each region and one from each element: one sea, one army and one air.”
Gillenis the second senior cadet from Powell River chosen for an international tour this year. Master warrant officer Katheryn Sheldon was one of 11 cadets chosen to participate in a World War I and II battlefield tour in March 2018.
“We’re very fortunate in Powell River to have dedicated, talented people presenting the program as well as a world-class venue for us to experience and explore,” said local corps lieutenant Caroline Visser. “Sheldon and Gillen have both participated fully in the program with enthusiasm and dedication, and it shows. They have excelled in their activities and in the community. We are incredibly proud of them.”
Gillen said she was surprised when she received the news that she had been chosen.
“It was kind of out of the blue,” she added. “My mom and I went to Victoria to get my passport last Wednesday.”
The tour, a collaboration of Veterans Affairs Canada and the United Kingdom’s UCL Institute of Education, takes place August 3 to 11, starting off in the nation’s capital with a visit to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
The 15 cadets, aged 16 to 18, will then travel together to France, visit significant World War I battlefields and learn about the role Canada played in the first World War. On the anniversary of the battle, August 8, the contingent will attend a ceremony at Amiens Cathedral.
The Battle of Amiens, also known as the Third Battle of Picardy, began on August 8, 1918. It was the opening phase of the Allied offensive that ultimately led to the end of World War I. Amiens was one of the first major battles involving armoured warfare and marked the end of trench warfare on the Western Front until the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918.
Gillen said being chosen is an honour.
“I’m really excited to go,” she added. “This is my first trip to France; I’ve never been out of the country before.”
