Surrey's newest tree has roots in Vimy Ridge

Surrey's newest tree has a history that goes all the way back to the Battle at Vimy Ridge.

The oak sapling, which was planted Thursday afternoon, is a direct descendant of the trees that once lined the French battlefield where 3,598 Canadian soldiers were killed in April of 1917.

"The battle for Vimy Ridge involved a very intense artillery barrage and that barrage essentially destroyed every tree on the ridge," said Fleetwood-Pt. Kells MP Ken Hardie.

"A Canadian officer, Lt. Leslie Miller from Scarborough, picked up some acorns from a tree that had just been blown apart. He sent them back home in 1917 and had them planted on his farm."

Miller called the trees the Vimy Oaks, and that's what they've been known as ever since.

Canadian Trees

As the 100th anniversary of the Battle at Vimy Ridge grew near, the Vimy Oaks Legacy Corporation planned to take dozens of saplings and plant them near the Canadian National Memorial Vimy site in France.

When those plans hit a snag, Hardie saw an opportunity to create a memorial site in Surrey.

"The idea was to take saplings from those trees and send them back to Vimy to re-establish oak trees on the ridge but unfortunately, at the last minute, they weren't able to get them into France," Hardie said.

"The trees were available, and I learned about this from one of my colleagues in caucus and I got one."

Hardie called Surrey's parks department to see if he could plant the sapling somewhere in the city.

They decided Francis Park in Fleetwood was the perfect location.

"This spot is actually quite symbolic," he said.

"Francis Park is named after Francis Fleetwood, Arthur Fleetwood's mom. Arthur Fleetwood is the namesake of this community and he died in World War I."