Kingston group promoting commemoration of the Battle of Hill 70

A group of Kingston residents is the driving force behind a move to honour what they are calling Canada’s forgotten victory.

“Hill 70 was a magnificent victory,” said chair of the Hill 70 Memorial Project, Mark Hutchings. “It had a positive effect on the creation of Canada as a nation, and was generally bookended by Vimy and Passchendaele.”

The Battle at Hill 70 took place on Aug. 15, 1917,  and only lasted a few hours before Canadian soldiers were victorious.

“It had the effect of turning the Canadian Corps into a national army,” Hutchings said. “Never again did the British try to split up our divisions and use them separately.”

The Hill 70 Memorial Project is a multi-million dollar initiative which has two main goals: erecting a permanent monument on the site of the former Hill 70 battlefield, as well as educating Canadians on its significance in relation to our own national history.

Information packages about the Battle of Hill 70 have been sent to every high school in the country.

“As Canadians, we have a duty to remember the past and the people — those Canadians who came before us and helped build the country that we’re in,” said project education director, Susan Everett.

The group has been able to attract some big names for help. An app and website is being created to help educate people on the Battle of Hill 70. Content will be narrated by actor, and Kingstonian, Dan Akroyd.

The group has also managed to secure retired colonel Chris Hadfield as its national spokesperson.

“We approached him and he was delighted to come on board,” Hutchings said. “He has two relatives who both fought in the Canadian Corps: a grandfather and great uncle.”

Hadfield will attend a private event that the project’s board of directors is hosting in Kingston on Saturday.