PEI

P.E.I. student wins pilgrimage to Vimy, France

A teenager from Prince Edward Island will attend the 100th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April, 2017.

'I am really, really passionate about history'

16-year-old Charlotte Armstrong has won a trip to France and Belgium to visit wartime sites. (Submitted by Charlotte Armstrong )

A teenager from Prince Edward Island has won the opportunity to attend the 100th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April, 2017.

Charlotte Armstrong, 16, a Grade 11 student at Charlottetown Rural High School who volunteers at the public archives, is one of five teenagers from the Maritimes who competed against hundreds across the country to win a Vimy Pilgrimage Award.

"I am really, really passionate about history, especially the two world wars," said Armstrong.

"I want to do as much as I can to preserve the history of what happened in those wars, the contribution of Canadians especially. And I'm very excited because we are going to be going to most of the battle sites that we talked about in school last year, and I'm really excited to learn more about World War I."

Armstrong's great-uncle fought during World War I.

Week-long adventure

The Vimy Foundation hands out the awards and looks for young people who are leaders in their community.

As well as Vimy, Armstrong and 16 other students from across Canada will spend a week in April touring World War I sites in northern France and Belgium.

The Vimy Foundation covers flights, accommodations and food — in other words, everything — and the awards are sponsored by the Cundill Foundation. 

With files from Laura Chapin